Aw, Grow Up Already!
by Chiharu-senpai
Summary: It's something we've all heard before, but can Tamao and Nagisa do it in their last year at Astraea Hill? Sequel to The Great Shizuma. Tamao and Nagisa try to get into uni, while Yaya and Tsubomi try to get jobs. TamaoXNagisa / YayaXTsubomi.
1. The First of Our Last Days

Hey everybody!

I said I'd do it, and here it is --- the sequel to The Great Shizuma. Hopefully it will live up to TGS.

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter One**

**The First Of Our Last Days**

Sixteen-year-old Suzumi Tamao did up the pine-colored necktie and smoothed out the bottom of her uniform. Sighing, she snuck a glance out her dorm window. The cream-hued curtains were thrown open, admitting April's buttery dawn light. The season had approached that ambiguous spring weather --- bitingly chilly in the morning and at night, and miserably hot in the afternoon.

Tamao turned toward her bed, smiling as she saw her favorite redhead laying in it, fast asleep. Aoi Nagisa lay on her tummy, her arms tucked underneath her, her mouth slightly ajar. By close examination, Tamao could see that she was blushing. _I wonder what she's dreaming about?_

With a drowsy groan, Nagisa shifted a bit in her sleep. She extended an arm, her hand pawing the side of the bed where the poet previously laid. Nagisa's auburn eyebrows knitted and she mumbled, "Tamao-chan…" Her hand made vague squeezing motions on the sheets.

Tamao giggled. _She's so cute! _Then she sweat-dropped. _But I wonder what part of me she would be grabbing if I was laying there… _It was true to say that ever since they stole home plate (or first base if that's how you look at it) in July last year, Nagisa had been a bit bolder, sexually.

Nagisa rolled onto her back, her right arm up over her head. Tamao decided to have a little fun waking her up. The redhead's mouth still hung open and the poet covered it with her own. Tamao's tongue darted inside, immediately rousing Nagisa with a hilarious snorting sound. She brought her hands to the poet's neck, cradling Tamao's head as they made out for a few moments. Then, moaning, Nagisa began to tug on Tamao's uniform, trying to pull her in their bed. But the poet politely broke off the kiss and whispered, "As much as I'd like a morning roll in the hay, I'm afraid we can't."

Looking a bit crestfallen, the redhead slumped back in bed, covering her garnet eyes sleepily with her arm. "Why?" she asked.

"Guess what day it is?"

Nagisa's eyes were hidden, but Tamao saw her bemused frown. "Monday?"

"_Hai. _You're right. BUT…" The poet pulled Nagisa's arm from her eyes, and leaned in closer. "Hint: I'm in my uniform,."

Nagisa spaced out a moment before it clicked. She sat up. "The first day of school!"

"You're absolutely correct! Here's your prize!" And Tamao pulled her in for another kiss.

---

"Are you guys idiots?! Get up!"

"Good morning to you, too," Nanto Yaya greeted Tsubomi sarcastically.

Across from her, fifteen-year-old Konohana Hikari yawned and rubbed sleep from her turquoise eyes. Ever since Hikari's beloved Amane graduated from Spica and she herself had stepped down from her position as Ếtoile, the blonde-haired girl had gone back to rooming with Yaya.

"School starts in an hour," Okuwaka Tsubomi ranted, "and we have to pick up our class schedules!"

"Take a chill pill, Tsubomi-chan," Yaya grunted. She stood and started to change into her uniform. Hikari, having lived with the brunette before, knew to look away. Tsubomi tried to avert her gaze, but Yaya caught her sneaking a peek. She grinned.

"Impressive, eh Tsubomi?"

For a brief moment, Yaya saw Tsubomi's golden eyes widen and a pink blush dashed the younger girl's cheeks. Then she turned away with a huff.

Tsubomi cried out as Yaya pressed up against her from behind. She saw and felt the older girl's bare arms encircle her waist.

"Yaya-senpai…" Tsubomi warned.

"Oh, you love it. Admit it," Yaya growled, gently nibbling her ear lobe. She jumped away just in time as Tsubomi's fist narrowly missed her head. Yaya laughed heartily. "Such a violent little girl!"

"Just shut up and get ready." And Tsubomi turned her back to her girlfriend, dismissing the argument completely. Yaya heard her mumble, "I'm not so little…"

Hikari sighed. _It's great to be back._

Yaya had to agree, though, on their way to the courtyard, that Tsubomi wasn't really so little anymore. When she first met the kouhai, Tsubomi had been of smaller than average height with long light-pink hair. She had had burning topaz eyes and chubby cheeks that puffed out when she was angry. Now she was taller, though not as tall as Yaya. Some of her baby fat had been shed and her hair had faded from roseate to fuschia. In a month, Tsubomi would be fourteen, the age Yaya was when she first met the younger girl, and had apparently entered the awkward-clumsy phase of adolescence.

"Oi, oi, that's probably the third time you've tripped today," Yaya laughed, holding Tsubomi steady, "and it's not even 0700 hours!" She smiled appreciatively and lightly ran her hand along Tsubomi's soft cheeks. "You really are getting older."

Tsubomi frowned at that. It was an understatement to say that she was stubborn. She hated it when things had to change. The fact that Yaya was in her penultimate year of school was too real for her. _Why can't things stay the same? _she thought, her sorrow turning into anger. _Everybody was happy with the way things were, so…why?? _Her growth spurt was just another illustration of her world changing too rapidly. Not half an hour before she traipsed off to Yaya and Hikari's room had Tsubomi gazed at herself in her full-length mirror. She had found it hard to recognize herself. Waterfall tears streamed down her face as she pouted, "My body refuses to comply with my principles."

The pinkette opted to disregard Yaya's comment about getting older, and simply pushed her hand away. "Hey, none of that. You know how I feel about public displays of affection."

"There's no one around." Yaya grinned and slid her hand up Tsubomi's beige sweater, pushing up the light blue polo underneath. "Besides, I can't keep my hands off you."

Tsubomi shuddered as Yaya's hand reached penalty zones. She jumped away, readjusting her clothes. "W-well, you b-b-better learn to," she stuttered, blushing. "I w-won't have you m-mauling me at sch-school."

Tsubomi felt a sultry heat build up in her chest as Yaya's brown eyes smoldered. "You mean I have to go an entire day without my Tsubomi-chan?"

With an effort, the kouhai averted her butterscotch eyes. "M-more or less…"

"Okay," Yaya said slowly, stepping closer. "I can deal with that, on one condition…"

Tsubomi gazed at Yaya, intensely bewildered and weak at the knees. "What's that?" she practically whispered.

Yaya seized the younger girl by her shoulders and pushed her up against a tree. "I have a pitstop of lovin' to keep me going." And she attacked Tsubomi's neck with warm, wet kisses, dangerously light and ticklish. Tsubomi could be impervious to Yaya's flirtations, but once the older girl went for her neck, the pinkette's resolve crumbled. She managed to grunt out one last warning "Yaya-senpai…" before she gave in completely. She closed her eyes and emitted a panicked purr as Yaya ran her tongue ever so gently along her hyper-sensitive neck. Eventually, though, Yaya's tongue hit a nerve, causing Tsubomi to jerk her shoulder up, knocking Yaya away.

"I'm sorry!" Tsubomi exclaimed. "It was a reflex!"

"It's okay," Yaya smiled, stepping back a bit. "C'mon, let's go get our schedules!"

"You mean that was all I got?" the pinkette sighed.

The raven-haired girl laughed. "Ah, see? Now you _want _me to do you!"

_Rats. I was tricked. _"Y-you suck, Yaya-senpai." But Tsubomi took her hand and they made their way to the courtyard.

---

Kagome stood outside the registration office, which was teeming with girls from all three schools. This portion of the first day of school --- picking up your schedule --- was always a pain in the butt for all parties involved. The student body of Astraea Hill was approximately 12,000 girls. The staff had to scoot 12,000 students through the office before school started. Usually a fifth of the student body was late to class because of this.

Girls bustled past the Lulim third year, in a hurry to find their first classes. Kagome was waiting for Tsukidate Chiyo, her girlfriend and a truer companion than anyone could have. They had entered the office only to be separated because Kagome had to go to the "First Names A-F" section and Chiyo had to go to the "First Names T-X" section. Kagome had finished first.

She looked at her schedule. Biology I Honors, Effective Writing, French III, AP Japanese History, PE, lunch, and Statistics. Girls from separate schools rarely had classes together, but Kagome was hoping she and Chiyo would at least have PE together.

"Kagome chan!"

The Lulim girl looked up and smiled as Chiyo approached her, grinning. The two brushed lips, the contact sending electricity through Kagome, and they compared schedules.

Chiyo pouted. "Why must you be so smart?" Chiyo's schedule boasted no Honors or Advanced Placement classes at all: Japanese History, Japanese Literature, Intro to Biology, lunch, PE, Geometry, and French III.

"Hey, we have Gym together!" Kagome beamed.

"So we do…Hmm, I wonder if we wear the same uniform size…"

They contemplated that. Then they blushed deeply as they realized that they would have to change clothes in front of each other.

Kagome looked up past Chiyo's shoulder and smiled. "_Konichiwa, _Nagisa-oneesama. Tamao-oneesama."

Chiyo turned around to greet them, but her greeting stuck in her throat. "T…Tamao-oneesama! Your hair!"

"Do you like it?" Tamao ran her fingers through her ponytail.

"It's…in a ponytail!"

"Yeah. Do you like it?"

Chiyo openly stared. She couldn't decide whether or not she liked Tamao's new hairstyle. Her first impulse was to hate it simply because it was too different. But Chiyo didn't want to be too quick to condemn this style. To go from a bun to a ponytail wasn't such a drastic change. To go from a bun to cornrows or a shaved head --- _that _was something to sneeze at.

"It's great," Kagome said. "I love it."

"Lovely! Great!" Chiyo added.

Tamao simply smiled, knowing that Chiyo just felt a little upheaved by the new school year. In a disquieting way, the poet suspected _everyone _was feeling this way.

She turned to Nagisa, who was crying waterfall tears.

"What's wrong? Is the ponytail really that bad?"

"No," Nagisa whined. She waved her schedule about. "We only have French and lunch together!"

"Well, at least we have _something _together," Tamao assured, resisting the urge to laugh at Nagisa's expression.

"Only one class, and we're not even allowed to speak Japanese to each other…" Nagisa didn't even _have _to take French this year, or last year. She had fulfilled her foreign language credit requirement. She had come within a breath of omitting it from her schedule, maybe take some fun elective like Ceramics instead, but Tamao had convinced her otherwise.

"After French IV," the poet had explained, "it becomes an Honors class. That will look good for uni. And if you opt out of French V and VI, you'll just have to take it in college anyway."

"Tamao-senpai! What did you do to your hair?" They all turned to see Yaya and Tsubomi approaching them. They both looked pissed, but for different reasons.

Tamao chuckled humorlessly. "I take it the ponytail isn't a hit."

"No, it's not," fumed Tsubomi. She didn't get it. She had thought the bun was fine, so why did Tamao have to get rid of it? Why did everything have to be so different? Couldn't everything just stay the same for _just one second???_

"What's wrong, Yaya-chan?" Nagisa asked.

Yaya shook her head furiously and held up her schedule. "They decided to make choir a regular fifty minute class instead of an extracurricular activity! So the administrators decided to push out my Consumer Ed class!"

"And that's a bad thing?" the redhead asked. "I'd be jumping for joy."

"It's a graduation requirement. I was hoping to get it out of the way this year."

"But the _real _reason Yaya-senpai's upset," said Tsubomi, "is because she could actually get in serious trouble for skipping rehearsals."

Yaya couldn't really deny this.

---

Tamao appeared to be fast asleep that night, but she actually just laid there, her eyes narrowed into slits. In the dim light Nagisa changed out of her uniform and into her pajamas. The poet shuddered as she saw her girlfriend in naught but her undergarments. They were in a comfortable stage of their relationship where they could see each other like that, but Tamao still got a delicious thrill to see Nagisa in her underwear. Such perks one could get from rooming with her lover.

Nagisa did up the last button on her top and switched off the light. Tamao could still see her vaguely in the moonlight from the window. The redhead moved toward their bed and sat upon it. That was when Tamao made her move. In one quick, easy movement, the poet grabbed Nagisa, pulled her down in bed, and rolled on top of her. Naturally, the redhead gave a startled squeak.

"Eep! Tamao-chan?!"

Tamao smiled as she nuzzled her girl. "See, that's another thing I love about you: you're so much fun to seduce."

For the past week, they had been compiling a list of things they loved about each other. It was like a little game of theirs.

Nagisa brought her hands up to Tamao's face. "You're horny tonight, all of a sudden," she observed. "Are you sure we should do this on a school night?"

"I've been thinking about something, Nagisa-chan," the poet sighed. "Do you realize that today was our last first day of school?"

"I personally find that to be a relief. No day is more hectic or confusing."

"Yeah, but once you think that you could never have it again, it becomes more appealing." Tamao paused a moment to gaze into Nagisa's crimson eyes. She decided to cut to the chase. "What'll happen to us after we graduate?"

Nagisa frowned. She had never really considered that. For the redhead lived in the moment and simply enjoyed hers and Tamao's relationship for what it was, not what it could be. Nagisa loved Tamao deeply --- no other girl could make her so happy --- but one thing she didn't love was the poet's inclination to worry. (They had fought about it once; Tamao refused to acknowledge it as "worrying," but rather "thinking ahead." But with her father's recent diagnosis of esophageal cancer, Tamao had been "thinking ahead" a lot, which led to their infrequent quarrels.)

"I don't know," the redhead responded.

"Neither do I," Tamao sighed, lowering herself so she could rest her head on Nagisa's chest.

"We could…try to get into the same college," Nagisa suggested.

Tamao shrugged. She couldn't see that happening. She and Nagisa had a whole world between their academic ranks at Miator. Tamao was in Honors and AP; Nagisa was in Regular Ed, and even in Essentials math and science. Tamao wanted to become a writer; Nagisa didn't know what she wanted.

"You may call me a 'worrywart,'" said the poet, "but this is a real problem that needs figuring out." She reared back up so she could look Nagisa in the eye. "At this point I can honestly say that I want to be with you forever."

"Is this a proposal?" the redhead grinned. "Where's my ring?"

"I would…like to marry you someday. But uni comes first. Do you…think we could stand a four-year separation?"

"Of course."

"So optimistic…" Tamao whispered, stroking Nagisa's almond-colored hair. "There's another thing I love about you."

Tamao's list extended longer than Nagisa's. It didn't mean Nagisa didn't love Tamao as much, but rather that Tamao was a hopeless romantic.

"I want to make love to you." Tamao leaned her head against Nagisa's, brushing lips. "I want to because we can, and someday we won't be able to."

Nagisa hooked her legs around Tamao's waist and pulled her in for a deep, sultry kiss. That night the redhead never thought "thinking ahead" could be so hot.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

And that's chapter one. I won't be able to update as frequently. I can probably get chapter two up next week.

For those of you who have read The Great Shizuma and know about my promise to illustrate it and post my illustrations up on deviantART, they're finally up. Here's my URL.

chiharusenpai . deviantart . com

It's really all one word, but I have to space it so FF will put it up there.

And concerning my artwork, I always considered myself an okay artist, but I don't think my style of manga artwork quite matches Strawberry Panic! and I'm pretty self-conscious about it. So when you comment, don't leave obnoxious remarks about anatomy and stuff. This was just for fun. (Besides, some of the characters are really hard to draw!) I misplaced my picture of Setsuko, but I can just draw another one.

Until next time! Peace.


	2. Career Opportunities

Well, it took a week, but here's chapter two. I had to rewrite this like five times, and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. Sometimes I don't know what the point of this story is, but some of my favorite stories on this site really have no point. They're still great. Anyway, maybe my goal for this one will be to make it a novel (I belive a story of 100,000 words or more is a novel). Anywho, here it is...

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Two**

**Career Opportunities**

Chiyo burst in through the gymnasium doors, her chest heaving, her breath rasping. They had only been three weeks into the school year, and Kousabe-sensei was having them run the mile. Chiyo had started out strong, but quickly fell behind. Soon she was so tired that she could achieve no more than walking speed. Therefore, she figured she may as well walk. But Kousabe-sensei, a portly woman with a butch cut and a voice like a foghorn, came waddling over to her, booming, "Tsukidate! Get your pansy ass in gear! Move! Move!"

_Should've joined band, _Chiyo groaned inwardly as she laboriously threw herself forward. Band students were exempt from PE.

Now she collapsed on the shiny, squeaky floor, and sat there, her vision reeling. It hurt to breathe and it hurt not to. Her heart was skipping beats. She felt light-headed. She felt like she would throw up.

"Here," ordered that sweet, gentle voice. Chiyo forced her chin up. Standing above her was Kagome, her brown curls up in a ponytail, her teddy bear Pashibaru in one hand. In her other hand she held out her water bottle, which was three-quarters full.

"_Arigatou._" Chiyo sat up and accepted the water. She conscientiously drank a couple sips, then held it back out to Kagome.

Kagome shook her head. "Have the rest."

"A-are you sure?"

"You look like you need it more than I do." Kagome sat across from Chiyo on the floor, her back against the wall. She watched the blue-haired girl guzzle the remainder of the water, a little smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. Chiyo was drinking so enthusiastically that the water spilled a bit, making her cheeks and chin glisten with wet.

"What's so funny?" the librarian asked.

Kagome had been suppressing laughter, and now it exploded out of the small girl in reaction to Chiyo's innocent question. "You! You're a mess!" She produced a small towel from her shorts pocket and mopped the water off Chiyo's face.

When she'd finished mopping they realized their faces were only inches apart. Chiyo leaned her head on Kagome's, slid her nose alongside hers, and they shared a few tender kisses. When they pulled back Chiyo commented, "You know, you look really good with a ponytail. You could wear your hair like that everyday."

"Really?" Kagome grinned. According to PE rules and regulations, girls with hair longer than chin length had to tie their hair up.

"Really…" Chiyo meant to gently kiss Kagome, but mistimed how quickly she leaned forward. The force of her kiss had knocked Kagome back against the wall, and the Lulim girl didn't try to resist. In fact, she wrapped her arms around the Miator girl's neck and deepened the kiss. Kagome had never felt this way before, but suddenly she wanted Chiyo in a way that was more powerful than their playful courtship. She could feel the wanting coursing throughout her, making her heart beat harder. Chiyo slid her arms around Kagome's waist and they clinched, pressing their cheeks, chests, and legs together. When they pulled back for a breath they remembered where they were and tore apart. Her knees shaking, Chiyo stood and gallantly helped her girlfriend up.

The Miator librarian started to laugh and Kagome blinked. "What are you laughing at?"

Chiyo pointed at the teddy bear laying forgotten on its side. "Poor Pashibaru's probably traumatized!"

Kagome bent down to pick up her bear, and listened intently to its silent ramblings, which only she could hear. She nodded and stroked its head. "It's okay, Pashibaru. My mother's a therapist. She can help you."

"U-um, Kagome," Chiyo blurted.

The girl in question looked up, a warm affection in her emerald eyes.

Chiyo's face flushed tomato-red. "This isn't easy for me to say…But I've known you a long time, a-and I always thought you were cool…and…uh…What we just d-did --- I mean, I'd, uh, like to do more…go further, perhaps…" _I sound like the biggest R-tard in history._

Now Kagome also blushed. "I'd like to, too," she said quietly, yet sincerely.

The Miator girl felt a bit more confident. "C-can I come over tonight?"

"No. Sorry. I have a test in Biology that I need to study for. But I'm available on Friday," she added quickly.

Chiyo smiled brightly. "Friday's good."

And so it was a date.

---

Kagome would be late to her next class, but right now that hardly mattered. She felt a confusing clutter of emotions as she headed to the locker room. Part of her was happy and excited --- though she had yet to say it, she loved Chiyo and was eager to take their relationship to the next level. But a more sensible part of her was clouded with doubts. _What if it sucks? What if I can't satisfy Chiyo? What if she can't satisfy me? What if, what if, what if?_

"Hey, Kagome-chan!"

Kagome looked up. Her classmates had just finished showering. Kizuna, the Étoile cadette, was hailing her, waving so exuberantly that her towel threatened to drop.

"What kept you?"

"N-nothing." Keeping her head down, Kagome strolled past Kizuna.

Kizuna took in her rumpled appearance and exclaimed, "You were making out with Chiyo-chan!"

Kagome halted, but didn't turn around. Though they were best friends, Kizuna made her disapproval of the Lulim third year's relationship with Chiyo no secret. The Étoile cadette had said that Chiyo "stole" Kagome from her and Remon (the Étoile premier).

"I was getting a drink," Kagome said flatly, pulling out her hairtie.

"Yeah, right. Your hair's messed up and your face is glowing."

"It's probably from running," Remon spoke up, the sapphire gleaming around her neck. "Everyone's hair looks kinda sloppy right now." Remon noticed that lately she had to play peer mediator to Kizuna and Kagome's infrequent spats.

Kagome let the matter drop. She grabbed a towel and strode past Kizuna, muttering, "Excuse me, Étoile-sama."

Kizuna sighed as she started to get dressed. "Will I ever get used to being called 'Étoile-sama'?"

"Just you wait," Remon grinned. "By the time we _finally _get used to it, we'll be stepping down from our position."

"Isn't it ironic?"

The Étoile premier frowned. "Kizuna, don't sing that song --- please!"

"_It's like raaaaaiiiiin on your wedding day!_"

Kizuna skipped around the locker room, singing "Ironic," with Remon in hot pursuit.

---

Tsubomi strode into homeroom, still exhausted from running the mile. She carried her sweater in her arms. Walking across the room to her desk was an effort, her calves almost audibly protesting.

Almost the instant the tardy bell rang her homeroom teacher was passing out brightly-colored flyers. Her vision still swimming with exhaustion, it hurt Tsubomi to look at the neon-colored paper. The black lettering, standing out harshly against the yellow-green sheet, read: COME TO ASTRAEA HILL'S JOB FAIR!

Tsubomi blinked. She hadn't been aware that there were job opportunities at the Hill.

The sensei was explaining. "Astraea Hill hosts three job fairs each year. Some of you are already old enough to get a job. For those of you who have yet to turn fourteen, you can apply for a work permit down at the career center."

A girl raised her hand and asked where the career center was. The sensei told her that it was next door to the counselor's office.

"At the job fair," the teacher continued, "several food and retail businesses will be hosting interviews. But you can only have an interview if you've applied. If you haven't, there will be kiosks at the fair where you can fill out applications. I highly recommend that you apply in advance, though. Any questions?...Yes, Okuwaka-san."

"How can we get these applications?" Tsubomi asked.

"Talk with the staff at the career center. They'll get you a waiver to leave campus to pick them up…Yamoto-san?"

"These jobs are…_off_-campus, right?"

"Right. You will be permitted to leave campus to attend work as long as you're back before midnight."

Now everybody present was pumped for this job fair. Who wouldn't pass up the opportunity to be out past the usual six o'clock curfew? And you would get paid for it! Tsubomi wasn't excited by the prospect of staying out late so much as the prospect of making money.

After classes had ended she headed to Yaya and Hikari's dorm. She couldn't remember them ever mentioning a job fair. _But knowing those lazy-bones, they probably never bothered with getting a job. _She rolled her eyes.

But Yaya and Hikari seemed to vividly recall the job fair after Tsubomi showed them the flyer.

"You mean you went?" the pinkette asked.

"I went once," replied Yaya, "but since I hadn't applied in advance, I spent the whole time at the kiosk filling out applications. It was boring as fuck. And I didn't hear back from the places I applied to."

"I went all three times," said Hikari, "but no one would hire me, no matter how persistent I was. Probably because of my work history…"

"What was wrong with your work history?" Tsubomi asked.

"Um, I didn't _have _one…"

Yaya turned the flyer over in her hands. Passing it back to Tsubomi, she grinned, "Maybe I'll try and get a job, too."

"You?" the third year laughed. "Who would hire you?"

"Lots of places," the brunette answered coolly. "I stand more of a chance than you because I'm older."

"But I'm a better worker! You don't have the work ethic God gave a housecat!"

"That doesn't matter."

Tsubomi turned to Hikari. "Hikari-senpai, if you could hire one of us, who would you hire?"  
The blonde suppressed an exasperated groan. She always got caught in the middle of their fights, but they had never asked her to take a side. She didn't want to side with one of her friends out of fear of hurting the other. Besides, she simply didn't care about this issue. She had tests in Physics and Algebra II tomorrow. Clearly, she had more important things to think about.

"Well…" The former Étoile tried to choose her words carefully. "Yaya-chan _does _have seniority over you, Tsubomi-chan…That always helps…But Tsubomi-chan seems more serious about work, and in the long run that's what counts…Then again, when it comes to _hiring_…" _What the hell am I saying? _she wondered. _I'm just rambling._

"Okay, you're not helping." To Hikari's relief, Yaya dismissed her. "Tsubomi-chan, I'll bet my first paycheck that I get hired before you do."

_Jesus. That's a tall bet. _Tsubomi knew the value of yen. But she was above betting. So she declined.

'Come on, Tsubomi," Yaya taunted. "Paychecks come every two weeks. In two weeks, I'll have made fifty thousand yen!" (Two hundred American dollars?)

Tsubomi considered it. She could have her first paycheck doubled if Yaya lost the bet. But what if Yaya _never _got hired?

"I'm not accepting this bet, Yaya-senpai," Tsubomi said firmly. "We should just work hard to get jobs because that's what is morally correct."

"Ugh, you sounded like my mother there," Yaya grimaced.

"The thing every girl likes to hear from her girlfriend," Tsubomi sighed.

---

After dinner, Tamao and Nagisa headed to the Strawberry Dorm lobby. There were payphones there, and Tamao needed to call her parents. It had been maybe five months since she found out about her father's diagnosis of esophageal cancer. It had been so surreal. When Tamao was eight, her parents divorced due to irreconcilable differences (meaning her dad was a dreamer who preferred to live in his fiction world that he wrote about for a living; and her mother was a patent attorney, the head of the firm). She lived mostly with her mom and had gotten used to hearing her insult her dad. So it was pretty bizarre when Mom called Tamao on the phone and blubbered about how worried she was about Dad.

Tamao slipped some coins in and dialed her home number. Nagisa leaned against the wall, studying her girlfriend's face as she conversed with her mother.

"Hi, Mama," Tamao greeted brightly. Then she frowned. "…It's your daughter."

Nagisa flinched.

"I'm alright, but I'm more concerned with… yes, with Dad." Tamao sighed. "Well, Mama, not _everything _can be about you--- M-Mama! He's got cancer!" Her expression strained, Tamao listened for a few minutes. Nagisa could hear her mother's voice from where she stood. Then it quieted down, and Tamao's amethyst eyes snapped open wide. "_What?! _……And i-if I never h-happened to have c-called…w-would've you told me? Mother?" Tears filled her eyes and rolled unchecked down her cheeks. Nagisa stepped forward and brushed them away, her garnet eyes bright with concern and intense curiosity.

"There's nothing you can do about it there, either!" Tamao abruptly roared. Nagisa jumped back, startled. She had seen the poet angry before, but never like this. _What did her mother do to make her so mad?_

"But I'm his daughter!...Okay. Okay, Mama. Well, you just have fun being the only person he needs. By the way," she added icily, "I'm a lesbian…Yep. Heh. Have fun with that bombshell. See ya around."

"_SUZUMI TAMAO, YOU LISTEN TO ME!!!_" Nagisa could hear the screech over the phone. Mom was abruptly cut off when Tamao hung up the phone.

The redhead reached for Tamao, but the poet pulled away. "I'm fine," she said gruffly, her tears still coming.

Nagisa refused to listen to her, and managed to pull her into an embrace. Tamao resisted at first, too furious with her mother to reciprocate Nagisa's love, but eventually she gave in.

"…What happened…?" Nagisa asked hesitantly.

"My dad almost died in surgery," the poet sighed. "This was two months ago. And my mom didn't bother to tell me. She said, 'It wouldn't make much difference. You can't do anything about it at Miator.'"

"…And that was when you said she couldn't do anything either."

"Right. Then she said she had more of a right to know because she was married to him and…" Tamao trailed off and sobbed into Nagisa's shoulder. A bit frightened, the redhead held on tight to her. Usually the poet had to soothe her, and Nagisa wasn't used to this switch in roles.

"Where does she get off doing this?" Tamao hiccupped. "She spent eight years of my life telling me how much she hates his guts, and _now _she decides she loves him because it's convenient for her!"

"Maybe…she wants some sort of closure with him before…I mean, _if _he dies," Nagisa suggested.

"Or maybe she just wants to make me crazy," Tamao grunted, pulling back and wiping her nose on her sleeve. "I'll be keeping in closer touch with my father." She smiled. Her father. She got along so well with Suzumi Arashi. The two had a lot in common. Her father was an author, and his favorite genre to write about was fantasy. He was very well read and introduced Tamao at a young age to some of her favorite books: _The Divine Comedy _by Dante Alegheri, _Animal Farm _by George Orwell, and _The Great Gatsby _by F. Scott Fitzgerald. To name a few…

He'd always said that Tamao would inherit his book collection when he died, and for the first time, Tamao felt sickened at the thought of that happening.

* * *

**Tamao: **So I have a question...

**Author: **Okay. What's up?

**Tamao: **You based the story before this off _The Great Gatsby. _What book would this story be based off? It would sort of tie in with the theme of The Great Shizuma for this story to have a literary theme.

**Author, **_takes a pregnant pause_**: **Well...Um...Gee, I don't know. I guess this was just my own original basis...

(I could, however, see a Strawberry Panic! story based off _Of Mice and Men. _That could be a Yaya X Tsubomi fic, and it would go something like this:

_Yaya: We gonna get ourselves a farm, Tsubomi._

_Tsubomi: Yeah. It'll be a nice, big spread with cows, horses, chickens---_

_Yaya: And rabbits! Tell me 'bout the rabbits, Tsubomi!_

_Tsubomi: Ya crazy bastard. Fine, ya get t' tend th' rabbits..._

Too bad Tsubomi would have to shoot and kill Yaya in the end.)

NEXT CHAPTER: Yaya and Tsubomi go to the job fair, and Nagisa and Tamao give this let's-try-and-get-in-the-same-college thing a go.

Should I bump up the rating to M?


	3. More Than Love

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Three**

**More Than Love**

Before Kagome knew it, it was Friday.

Her hands trembling, she managed to clothe herself in her summer uniform --- it was May 1, the official day to switch. Today she was a bit more meticulous where appearance was concerned. She adjusted the red necktie maybe twenty-seven times before she was satisfied that it was on straight. She headed out the door quickly, yet clumsily, almost tripping over the door frame. Midway down the hall her hands fruitlessly groped the air by her sides. _Oh my goodness. I forgot Pashibaru! _She spun around on her heel and ran back to her room.

"_Gomen nasai, _Pashibaru!" Kagome cried as she snatched up the teddy bear. Pashibaru's resentment was almost tangible.

_I'm surprised that you even remember my name, _the bear said deadpan.

"Eh? _Nando yo?_" the Lulim girl asked.

_Ever since you got in with that Chiyo girl, well, I'm nothing but a stupid bear, right?_

"No! It's not like that!"

_Okay, Kagome, _Pashibaru sighed, letting the issue go.

"_Oussu! _Kagome-chan!"

Kagome looked up to see Remon and Kizuna approaching. It was the latter who had hailed the third year.

The Étoile couple halted, and Remon blushed profusely.

"Oh, so we switch _today…?_" the green-haired girl mumbled sheepishly.

Kagome nodded.

"I _told _you, Remon-chan!" Kizuna giggled as the Étoile premier, in a flurry of humiliation, whirled around and headed back to their dorm.

All day long Kagome couldn't concentrate. In Gym her class played volleyball. But so focused on her night with Chiyo was the Lulim girl that more often than not did the ball hit her in the head. She was to write a rough draft in Effective Writing, but persuasive research was the last thing on her mind.

All she could think about was Chiyo, her body pressed against Kagome's, holding her powerfully, her hand reaching for an area where only Kagome's hand had gone…

By the end of the day, Kagome was running into doors.

After dinner that night, she started to seriously prepare for this date. A lot of attention was paid to appearance, and several outfits in Kagome's wardrobe didn't make the cut. In the end she settled for an olive-green tanktop and tan cargo shorts --- simple, but appealing. She got out a brush and a red ribbon, and put her hair up in a ponytail.

_I've never seen you so conscientious about how you look, _Pashibaru commented dryly. Then he said, _You know, I really don't want to be here when this whole lose-your-virginity thing goes down._

"I understand," Kagome nodded, picking the bear up. "I think Kizuna-sama and Remon-sama would think me crazy to ask them to babysit you."

_The important thing is that you are not crazy. But I will be if I have to sit and watch you and Chiyo doing the deed._

"Right, and this is a special night for us. I don't want it to be ruined by your ceaseless whining." Kagome exited her room with Pashibaru and headed for the Étoiles' room.

---

Currently Kizuna was signing her X to a large pile of papers. She looked up when the door swung open to see Remon entering. The green-haired girl carried a stack of papers so high, her face was obscured. She walked carefully to her partner's desk, and dropped the stack atop the pile of papers Kizuna was signing.

"Jeez, Remon-chan!" the cadette protested. "I'm tired of signing papers! I never want to write my name again!" But she pulled a sheet off the newly-heightened stack and proceeded to sign her name.

"At least you have me to share this burden with," said Remon. "Imagine what it must've been like for Shizuma."

"Yeah." Kizuna shuddered. She didn't want to think about going through that.

Sighing, Remon picked up the stack of papers Kizuna had signed and brought it over to her desk. Being Étoile really was a pain. In addition to the extra homework upperclassmen had to do, they also had to fill out forms, sign things, and type reports for student council meetings.

Her head in the clouds, Kizuna distractedly tore a corner off the form in front of her. She rolled it into a ball with her thumb and index finger. Then she got an idea.

Kizuna turned in her seat, pleased to see that Remon's hair was still up, the back of her neck exposed. The cadette popped the piece of paper in her mouth and rolled it over with her tongue. Once it was sufficiently wetted, she took aim and shot it out.

Her aim was true. The spit ball hit Remon square in the back of the neck. The premier sat up and absently rubbed her neck. Kizuna suppressed a giggle. When Remon went back to work, the cadette shot another spit ball. This one hit Remon's ear.

Now Remon turned in her chair to face her grinning girlfriend. "Kizuna-chan, is there a bee in here or something?"

"I don't know, Remon-chan. Do I sting like a bee?" Kizuna rested her chin on her palms, her brown eyes sparkling comically.

Remon took in her partner's joking expression, the torn up paper, and a look of horror crossed her face. She stood. "Kizuna! Those are important forms! You are an Etoile! Behave more responsibly!" She paused. "And stop making references to bad pop songs from the '90s!"

She sat back down. Moments later, she felt something pelt her shoulder. Thoroughly frustrated, Remon stood and crossed the room to stand over Kizuna.

"Okay, now I know you're trying to cheese me off."

"You're no fun anymore," Kizuna complained, poking Remon's tummy. The premier gave a little squeak; she tried to lecture Kizuna and avoid her poking finger at the same time.

"I've grown up, that's why I'm no fun. Kizuna-chan, we are the Etoile couple of Astraea Hill! That is an immense honor. Not only are we supposed to be a model couple, but we're model students! We have to fill that role. Now I see you chewing on paper --- I want you to put the spit ball in my hand."

Remon thrust her hand out. Kizuna stared at her.

"Kizuna-chan..."

"You want me to put a _spit ball _in your _hand?_"

"Yes. It's your spit, so---"

Kizuna shot the spit ball right at Remon's breasts. The premier tried to keep a straight face. But soon enough she found that impossible. She shook her head and chuckled. "God, you'll never get serious. You leave me no choice...but to tickle you!" she finished savagely.

Kizuna squealed and jumped up, nearly knocking over her chair. Remon advanced upon her rapidly, and Kizuna backed away. In a matter of seconds, the premier had the cadette cornered.

Kizuna sank down to her knees. "Please don't tick---AHH!" she cried as Remon squeezed her side.

The cadette endured a few pinches and pokes before she spontaneously reared up. With a surprising roar, Kizuna floored Remon. The Etoile couple tusseled a bit until the premier found herself being straddled and pinned down by her girlfriend. They locked eyes, breathing heavily, their faces red with exhaustion.

Remon sighed and smiled. "Quite a convenient position we're in. If only you'd grow up, Kizun---AAAHH!" The cadette was roughly kissing Remon's neck, her breath soft and gentle in her ear. "K-K-Kizuna...What ab-bout the forms?"

"Screw the forms!" Kizuna cheered. "And screw me!"

They locked lips for a few minutes. Then their makeout session was interrupted by the sound of their door slamming. Kizuna looked up. Remon craned her neck.

"What was that?" Remon asked.

"I don't know," Kizuna said oddly. "But somehow Pashibaru wound up in our room..."

They shrugged it off and went back to kissing, their clothes slowly coming off, oblivious to Pashibaru's rants.

_What the hell! I came here to get away from this blasphemy! Aaauuu, Kagome! You owe me for this!!!_

---

Chiyo stood outside Kagome's door, her fist raised to knock. But she couldn't. She was more nervous than the day she was assigned to be Nagisa and Tamao's room temp. _That was an awfully long time ago, _the librarian realized absently.

"Hey, Chiyo-chan."

Chiyo nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around, surprised to see Kagome behind her.

"H-hey...Hey," she repeated, a bit more confidently. "Where were you?"

"Dropping Pashibaru off at Remon-sama's and Kizuna-sama's." Kagome stepped forward and pushed her door open. She politely offered for Chiyo to step in before her, an offer which Chiyo hesitantly accepted. However, the librarian stumbled over the door frame. Kagome caught her, but the two nearly fell over --- the Lulim girl's hand caught the door frame just in time. Using every ounce of her strength, Kagome managed to pull them upright.

"That was...awkward," the Lulim girl giggled nervously.

"Yeah. Nice save." Chiyo was still breathing heavily from the shock as Kagome closed the door. She took in what her girlfriend was wearing and commented, "You look amazing."

"Thanks," Kagome smiled, blushing. "You look great, too."

Chiyo was wearing an indigo T shirt and tattered jeans. Casual, but it worked for the librarian.

They stood for a moment, staring at one another. They both knew what was going to happen, and they both desperately wanted it to happen. But initiating it wasn't as easy as Carrie Bradshaw had made it seem (only take sex advice from _Sex and the City _with a grain of salt). Chiyo knew _someone _had to get this thing rolling, and so figured maybe she should. She stepped forward and leaned her head toward Kagome's, inviting her girlfriend to a kiss. Her breathn coming in short, panicked gasps, Kagome brought her hands to Chiyo's shoulders and got on tiptoe. They came close too eagerly, and bashed their heads together. They pulled apart briefly, giggling sheepishly.

"_G-gomen nasai_," Chiyo stuttered. "I just feel kind of nervous..."

"Let me...take you then." Kagome brought her arms around Chiyo's neck and kissed her full on the mouth. Shaking like a run-out horse, the librarian held Kagome by her trim waist, her clammy hands playing with the fabric of her tanktop. The sensations she felt now were very powerful, and they were going to get stronger. Kagome inched closer to Chiyo still, and began to bounce slowly on and off her toes, rubbing her body against the Miator girl's. Their kissing deepened, and Chiyo's stomach took a tremendous plummet.

Kagome broke off the kiss and murmured, "It feels good to rub up against you."

"Yeah, it feels good for me, too...Oh, God..." Chiyo gasped as Kagome strengthened her movements. She had never felt this much of Kagome all at once. She was starting to feel a bit of sensory overload. Chiyo could feel Kagome's breasts brushing past hers, over and over. Up, down, up, down. Torture. She felt light-headed, yet euphoric.

Kagome tipped her head back as the sensations briefly overwhelmed her. This was too much, but at the same time she wanted more. She pulled Chiyo towards the bed, where the librarian nervously laid with Kagome hesitantly sitting on top of her.

Chiyo took in the sight of Kagome's body hovering over her, and felt a chill in her thighs. The left strap of Kagome's tanktop had fallen down her arm a bit, partially revealing her bra. Plain old-fashioned white, a little crevice of cleavage. Kagome, sensing her girlfriend's curious desire, pulled off her tanktop. Upon seeing her beloved Kagome topless like that, a shock caused Chiyo to buck against her. She squirmed and the two shifted so Chiyo was sitting upright, her back against the headboard, with Kagome sitting in her lap. The librarian ran her clammy hands up and down Kagome's bare back, the warm feeling of her flesh tantilizing her more and more.

Kagome was feeling a drowsy sort of arousal, one that prompted not rough, aggressive sex, but slow, tender lovemaking. She and Chiyo were finally brave enough to have this night, and the Lulim girl wanted to make it last. Kagome ran her fingers through Chiyo's hair, watching adoringly as the locks slid through her hands in sapphiric cascades. She leaned in and showered her girlfriend with full, sensual kisses, cupping her cheeks in her hands.

Chiyo shuddered as she felt Kagome's gentle hands slip up her shirt and fondle her stomach. The Lulim girl was still kissing her deeply as she kneaded her tummy like bread dough. Then she ran her fingertips in feather-light circles trailing upward. Erotic anticipation fluttered in Chiyo's breasts as she pressed them toward Kagome, inviting her to them. But Kagome had other things in mind. She brought her hands back down and Chiyo sighed. Then back up again, dangerously closer to her chest. Then down. Moaning through the kissing, Chiyo pulled her shirt up high enough to expose her tummy. The cool air hitting her warm skin made her shiver. Kagome continued to torture the poor librarian with her close-yet-not-so-close strokes.

"K-Kagome, you're t-teasing me," Chiyo whimpered. "Please just touch me..."

The need was definitely there in her blue eyes. Kagome could feel Chiyo shaking, and suddenly knew how badly she had wanted this. She dismounted the librarian, and for a crestfallen moment Chiyo thought Kagome was backing down. But her libido shot back up through the roof as she saw the Lulim girl unbuttoning her jeans. Chiyo raised her hips to allow Kagome to pull them off.

Kagome smirked and her emerald eyes gleamed at the sight of Chiyo's underwear. "You're already wet."

"A-and you're not?" the librarian retorted.

The Lulim girl slipped a hand down her shorts. "Actually, yeah. I am, too. Wanna taste?" She brought her hand back out and trailed a glistening finger along Chiyo's lips. Chiyo instinctively took the finger in her mouth and sucked. Warm and salty.

To Chiyo's shock, Kagome went down on her. Everytime she felt her girlfriend's tongue on her clitoris, it sent a jolt that was oddly hot and cold at the same time through her. Her spine arched and her legs shook like an earthquake. She could hear Kagome's muffled groans, saw her hands between her legs stimulating herself. (Somewhere between the wetness banter and the eating Kagome's shorts had come off. Chiyo couldn't remember when, and decided it didn't matter.)

It was starting to become too much for them. To Kagome, the sensations building in her chest were not unlike the Giant Drop at amusement parks --- they built up high in her and impetuously plummeted. Suddenly they were no longer controlling their movements, just moving instinctively. Chiyo's orgasm seized her by the heart and soul as she cried Kagome's name.

"Kagome!" she sobbed as she erupted in Kagome's face. Having Chiyo's juices shoot out on her pushed the Lulim girl over the edge and she, too, climaxed.

Once her orgasm subsided, an immense fatigue swamped Kagome. Her arms shaking, she reared back up to look at Chiyo. In the librarian's sapphiric eyes Kagome saw everything. Neither of them could think, just feel. And what they felt for each other was something potent that the word "love" didn't hold a candle to. Whatever it was, it was more than love.

---

Afterward they laid side-by-side on the bed facing each other. Their bodies were so vulnerable post-climax that it hurt to touch. So they held hands. And really, for this moment that was only theirs, that simple gesture was the best thing ever. They locked eyes, silently getting to know each other, occasionally sharing a warm smile.

"...Chiyo-chan...?" Kagome whispered.

"Yeah?" The librarian inched closer.

If it were possible, the Lulim girl's feelings for Chiyo strengthened as she proclaimed, "I love you, Chiyo. I love you."

Chiyo smiled hugely, her blue eyes swimming. "And I love you, Kagome...so much..."

They kissed gently a few times before it became too much for them to bear. Then Chiyo pulled the duvet over them, Kagome switched off the lights, and they fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE **

So hopefully this turned out okay. I never did think I was very great at writing scenes like this. But I did have a few goals with this chapter. One, I wanted to keep in mind that Chiyo and Kagome are only 13 or 14 so this would be pretty awkward for them. Two, I wanted to accurately portray the emotional side of sex. I feel that a lot of erotic novels focus too much on technique and not enough on what the characters are feeling. Three, I wanted it to be fairly educational. Not like sex ed, but more like imparting some advice.

If you didn't catch it already, Kizuna has made references to "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin and "Ironic." (Though I think "She Bangs" was actually recorded in the early 2000's.)


	4. Masks

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Four**

**Masks**

To Tsubomi's embarrassment, Yaya had gotten moved into her Gym class. The Lulim classes had moved on to the volleyball unit, Miator to basketball. Spica classes were still doing physical exams.

Tsubomi discovered this early in the class, when Hino-sensei's class had formed their attendance lines. Their lines went in alphabetical order by first name, so that meant Nanto Yaya was to stand in front of Okuwaka Tsubomi.

The pinkette was spacing out during attendance, as she tended to, when she was suddenly glomped onto by a whirlwind of a brunette.

"Hey, cutie," Yaya whispered silkenly, gently nuzzling Tsubomi's ear.

"Y-Yaya-senpai?" Tsubomi briefly indulged herself in the moment. Yaya could be so tenderly affectionate, despite her forceful personality. The younger girl took the older girl's hand and caressed her knuckles with her thumb. It was more curiosity than her usual fury that prompted Tsubomi to pull back and inquire, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm in your class," Yaya responded brightly with a grin.

"Great..."

"I'll say it's great. I'll get to see you naked in the shower everyday."

A pang of horror struck Tsubomi at the thought of Yaya copping a feel in front of all those girls in the shower.

Yaya pulled Tsubomi close with one arm and ruffled her hair. "Hey, someone's got a birthday coming up!" She laughed at the kouhai's signature scowl. "Aww, not looking forward to it?"

"I don't want to be fourteen yet," Tsubomi sighed. "Thirteen was good. I'd like to be thirteen for just one more year."

"You realize that if you stay thirteen, you won't be able to work," Yaya pointed out.

The pinkette mulled this over, twirling a fuschia lock in her fingers. "Well," she said at last, "maybe legally I can be fourteen, but in every other aspect I'll be thirteen."

"How convenient," Yaya chuckled.

Hino-sensei started pacing the attendance line, issuing instructions. She was a fairly small woman, skinny but lanky. She had tan skin, shoulder-length brown hair, huge glasses, and crooked teeth. She was maybe in her late forties. Her voice was loud, but thin and reedy.

"Ahhhhhl-righty, girlies! Today's more physical exams, 'n I don't want nobody slackin' off, hear? ...Okay. To git thin's movin' more smoothly, I'll split y'all up in three groups. First names A through J, do pushups. First names K through R, chinups. S through Z, stair runs. Go!" She clapped her hands, dismissing them.

Yaya took off like a shot for the chinup bars. She jumped up, deftly snatched the bar, and pulled herself up. Tsubomi joined her, catching the bar next to Yaya's, but hung there without pulling up. Meanwhile the older girl just shot up and down smoothly, her breathing deep, slow, and controlled, her face placid.

"You sure took your time getting here." Yaya's gruff voice didn't carry one note of exhaustion.

"Well..." Tsubomi stared in open fascination at Yaya. She didn't seem like she would tire anytime soon. "Why waste energy getting here when I need it to do chinups?"

Yaya laughed. "And what do you call what you're doing now?"

Tsubomi glared. "Oh, shut up, Yaya-senpai!"

"Make me," Yaya sang.

The pinkette started to swing her body from side to side. Once she swung far enough, she caught her girlfriend with a playful kick to the leg. Yaya just laughed harder, and when Tsubomi came in for another kick, the senpai swung her foot up and used it to fondle between Tsubomi's legs. The unexpected stimulation almost made the kouhai let go of the bar.

"Eep! Stop that, you pervert!"

"Stop trying to kick me," Yaya responded. Then she grinned. "Unless you WANT me to be perverted and that's why you keep kicking!"

Truth be told, Tsubomi was actually feeling an immense attraction to her girlfriend. But she couldn't let Yaya know this --- Tsubomi would never hear the end of it. Instead of short, strong kicks, the pinkette began aiming butterfly kicks at the senpai. This way Yaya couldn't sneak her foot in.

Tsubomi made a blunder, however, when she got her left foot caught in the drawstring of Yaya's shorts. When she tried to pull her foot free, she only succeeded in pulling the brunette's shorts down.

"Who's the pervert now!" Yaya cackled, the thin waistband of her black panties showing.

"Shut up! Help me get my foot loose!"

"I love that musical..."

"Yaya-senpai!!!"

"Okay, okay. Don't pop a blood vessel...Um, okay. I'll jump down. Then I'll be ab;e to get your foot free..."

That said, Yaya let go of the chinup bar. Tsubomi's foot remained in the drawstring. As the senpai fell to the ground, the front half of her shorts was pulled extremely high. Yaya gave a harsh cry. Tsubomi managed to free her foot and jumped down next to her girlfriend.

"Are you okay?" Her fingertips grazed Yaya's cheek, her tawny eyes wide with worry.

Yaya managed a watery smile to show Tsubomi that she would be alright. "Yeah, I'm good." She straightened her back and readjusted her shorts. "Whoo! Tsubomi-chan, let's just say that there are certain areas on a lady's body where wedgies DON'T BELONG."

Tsubomi cringed.

The senpai smirked and cupped her lover's chin in her hand. Her brown eyes burned passionately. "Maybe you can kiss it and make it better."

"Don't insult me with your kinky fantasies!"

"Oi! Nanto! Okuwaka! What you doin'? Y'all suppose a be chin-uppin', no' flirtin' 'n gossipn'! Git on it!" Hino-sensei clapped her hands fiercely at the two students, who tore apart and promptly complied with her orders.

---

About a week later it was May 16; Tsubomi's birthday. It came on a Saturday --- no schoolwork to distract the girl from all the unwanted attention. Tsubomi only wished there was something more exciting going on in her dorm. For the kouhai wanted to stay in all day.

"Hey, today's your birthday, right?" her room mate asked. She was shoving books and papers into her messenger bag.

"Yeah."

"Well, happy birthday, then," the girl said brightly, smiling.

"_Arigatou_." Tsubomi also smiled.

"Aren't you going to celebrate? You're fourteen, girlie! It's an important year!"

"Yeah, uh..." The pinkette scraped her throat. "I think I'll just hang out here, you know?" Her eyes drifted toward the paperback copy of _The Crucible _on her nightstand, seeking an escape from this awkward conversation.

Her room mate nodded slowly. She knew Tsubomi wasn't the most verbose person. "I got some business to take care of. I'll be back around...1300 hours, about...?"

"Alright. See you later."

Tsubomi let out a heavy sigh once her room mate had departed. It wasn't that she _hated _the girl. On the contrary, she liked her. They just didn't get each other. Tsubomi thought her room mate was overbearing --- even more so than Yaya --- and her room mate thought that she was a stick in the mud. How their room mate compatibility profiles matched in the Astraea Hill rooming system was a mystery.

The pinkette picked up _The Crucible _and started reading from where she had left off. It was a very interesting play about the Salem Witch Trials. To Tsubomi, it was a pre-Elizabethan version of George W. Bush's Patriot Act. All someone had to do was simply say that you're a witch, and your ass was up shit creek.

She hadn't been reading long when she heard a knock on the door. _Probably someone to get all cheerleadery on me over a stupid birthday. _She marked her place, stood, and went to the door.

It was Yaya.

The senpai started singing loudly. "_Happy birthday to you..._"

People down the hall were opening their doors to see what the commotion was all about. Flustered, Tsubomi pulled Yaya in and closed the door.

"Happy thirteenth birthday, part two," Yaya chirped.

"Thanks." Tsubomi then noticed the tiara in Yaya's hands, and felt a pang of revulsion. She backed away. "Oh, no. Please don't put that thing on my head."

Without much effort, Yaya caught Tsubomi in a head lock and fixed the "thing" atop her crown.

"Aww! _Kawaii!_" the brunette squealed, pulling back.

Tsubomi puffed up indignantly. "This is a travesty..." She pulled the tiara off her head. "I refuse to wear this."

"Hm, you weren't allowed to take it off," Yaya hummed, her body sagging with disappointment. Then she stepped up to Tsubomi and tipped her chin up. "If you won't wear the tiara, will you at least let me give you a happy birthday kiss?"

"Well...I guess I can't object to that..." Having Yaya tower over her like this, their lips only centimeters apart, made Tsubomi feel powerless. But so in a good way. The senpai brought an arm around Tsubomi's waist, pulled her closer, and gave her a kiss passionate enough and hot enough to melt a glacier. Kissing Yaya was so much fun; the senpai made comical little noises. Tsubomi was remembering why she was loth to turn fourteen. She locked her arms around Yaya's neck, and turned a gentle birthday kiss into an all-out makeout session. They kissed each other with such aggression until Tsubomi stumbled and fell back on her bed with Yaya on top of her.

They looked in each other's eyes, breathing heavily. Yaya's libido had been spiked, making her more energetic. Her sense of smell sharpened when she was aroused, and she could smell Tsubomi. A cool, sweet smell.

"Okay," the senpai whispered. "I got a better gift than a tiara to give you." And, pinning Tsubomi down in bed, Yaya gave it to her.

---

Tsubomi lay lightly on top of Yaya, her head pillowed between her breasts. The room stank of sweat and female-ejaculate. The kouhai felt very drowsy, and was about to drift off when Yaya impetuously asked, "Why don't you want to get older?"

Tsubomi shifted a bit so she could look Yaya in the eye. "I'm...going to miss you."

The brunette blinked. "Tsubomi-chan, I'm not going anywhere...Are you?"

She shook her head. "You're not going anywhere _now, _but you will. To college."

"Oh. Yeah. That."

"Everyday brings us closer to the day when you're going away to college and I have to stay here. And it freaks me out, Yaya-chan." Tsubomi shuddered, and cuddled up closer to her lover. "I feel so...so _happy _when you're around me. It could be like this --- just like this right now --- if we didn't have to get older. But I feel like I'm literally being whipped forward into a future that I don't want. There's no reins on this. It scares me."

Yaya wrapped her arms around Tsubomi and kissed her cheek. "Don't be scared, Tsubomi-chan. You just have to accept that there are situations that are beyond your control. Besides," she smiled, "I don't know if I'll even _go _to college."

Tsubomi golden eyes snapped open wide. She sat up. "No...college...? B-but you HAVE to!"

The senpai snorted and waved her hand dismissively. "Nobody 'has' to go to college. It's not for everyone. What would I major in, anyway?"

"Vocal Performance, duh!"

"Impractical major," Yaya sighed.

Tsubomi blinked. She couldn't believe Yaya was _arguing _about this! "But you love singing! And you're so good at it!"

"No money in it."

The kouhai glared and put her hands on her hips. The potent attraction she'd felt for Yaya was wahed away by frustration. "Of course there's money in it! You don't see famous music artists like Rihanna or Billy Joe Armstrong living in the streets, do you?"

"It's...not my decision."

Tsubomi cocked her head, her expression softening somewhat. "...What?"

Yaya looked away, seemingly ashamed. "My parents won't let me go to college."

"Why not?"

"Because of my grade in Algebra II."

"...Which is...?"

"An F," Yaya said flatly.

"Why is it an F?" Tsubomi asked. "Poor test grades, or what?"

Now the brunette turned away completely. It was clear to see that she was severely embarrassed. That was a first for Yaya, who would probably moon the pope and hardly bat an eye. She had her fist over her mouth, and Tsubomi couldn't hear what she said. The kouhai asked Yaya to repeat herself. The senpai roared, "I don't turn in the homework, okay?"

"You can't be serious..." Tsubomi suddenly had a huge headache. "You do the homework, but you don't turn it in. And now you're flunking." She shook her head. "How low can you sink anyway?"

"Oh, save it, Tsubomi! I hear that enough from my family as it is!"

"But---"

"No!" Yaya sat up swiftly and faced her girlfriend. She sounded angry, but her brown eyes swam sorrowfully. "You have no idea how bad it gets. I'm basically the Nanto reject in my family. And now I ---I have a fourteen-year-old lecturing me about my future."

Tsubomi tilted her head in concern. Yaya appeared to be trying very hard not to cry. The kouhai realized that her girlfriend never really did disagree with Tsubomi everytime she called her an idiot. Yaya always seemed so happy, but inside she may have been fighting a futile internal struggle.

Tsubomi reached for Yaya, to hold her, but the senpai pulled away. Then, no longer able to contain her anguish, Yaya began to sob. She clung powerfully to Tsubomi and cried herself to sleep.

And so Yaya's smiling mask and Tsubomi's glaring mask had been removed, revealing two little girls who were scared of a big future drying up in front of them.


	5. The Past Is A grotesque Animal

Hey everybody!

A new chapter. This is mostly dialogue; Tamao and Nagisa talk about family while filling out college applications. I actually freewrote half of this. The chapter's not really to my satisfaction, but ce la vie --- such is life.

If you haven't caught this already, the title of the chapter is a reference to Of Montreal's "The Past Is A Grotesque Animal." It's nearly impossible for me to not make a reference to a song title in a chapter title.

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Five**

**The Past is a Grotesque Animal**

Nagisa looked up from the applications spread out in front of her on the bed. She had heard the door open; in popped Tamao, bearing envelopes and packages.

"Mail call!" she announced.

They sorted out their mail, when they came across their proofs for their senior portraits. Those they immediately opened. Tamao was fairly satisfied with hers. She had opted for a pose that had her laying on her tummy on a white-sheeted floor against a white backdrop, propped up on her elbows, cheek in palm, giving the camera a friendly sideways glance. Nagisa thought hers was okay. Her pose was also one of laying on her stomach, but she had crossed her hands and rested her chin on them, glancing up at the camera.

The novelty of the whole experience was spoiled by forms they had to fill out. These were so that their families could receive copies of the portraits. Tamao wisely chickened out of that --- she decided to just forward the forms to her mother.

"Tamao-chan, I need help with this application."

Tamao paused from writing her mother's Harajuku address to scan Nagisa's application to Osaka Community College. She had filled her name out okay, but had gotten the date wrong.

"What's 'dob'?" Nagisa asked.

"_Dob?_" Tamao blinked.

The redhead pointed to an empty slot in her application.

Tamao winced, and began to wonder if her girlfriend truly was a moron. "Nagisa ... that's DOB --- date of birth."

"Ohh. _Ohhhhh!_" Nagisa laughed as she scrawled 12-14-92 on her application. The poet sweat-dropped and returned to her application to the University of Tokyo.

They had decided to try and go to the same college. They had picked up applications from A-rank schools such as the U of T, and, to even out the odds for Nagisa, from second- and even third-rate colleges such as St. Ninnian and all the local community colleges. It was Tamao's dream to go to the University of Tokyo to double-major in Literature and Rhetoric. The U of T was the opportunity of a lifetime for perspective writers. However, if she wanted to stay with Nagisa, she would first have to go to community college, Nagisa would get her Associate's in whatever-she-wanted-to-major-in, Tamao would complete the two years' worth of Gen. Ed.s and transfer to the U of T, and they would get an apartment in Tokyo. Such was the poet's plan.

Tamao looked up to see Chiyo bustling about the dorm. Hurriedly sweeping the floor, quickly dusting the tables, hastily cleaning the window. Tamao chuckled, "You're very...industrious today. What's the rush?"

Chiyo paused from her work, and blushed. "Well, it's just that...Kagome and I were planning to take lunch together today. And, um, I wanted to get all my work done before noon."

Tamao smiled. "Consider it done. Why don't you take a day off, Chiyo-chan?"

The room temp brightened at the offer. "Really? I can?"

The poet nodded. "By all means. You better leave, too. It's 1150 hours. You don't want to keep her waiting."

Chiyo needed no further instruction. She rushed out of the dorm. She had forgotten to bid her oneesamas good-bye, but this didn't seem to bother them much.

"It's so cute how eager she is to see Kagome," Nagisa commented. "To be in love at such a young age..."

"Except she isn't so young anymore," Tamao realized sadly. "Next year, _she'll _be letting a room temp into her life."

Really, filling out basic personal info was easy for Nagisa. Choosing a major, however, was a bit more challenging. She didn't know what _field _she wanted to work in. Hell, she didn't even know what major options were available to her.

"What you put on that application doesn't have to be the be all end all," Tamao assured. "Hardly anyone works in the field they majored in their freshman year."

"Really?" Nagisa inquired, nibbling the end of her pen.

"Really. Take my mother for example. Her freshman year, she majored in Engineering. Now she's a lawyer."

"Hmm." Nagisa tentatively wrote BUSINESS in the slot. The field her parents worked in. "What does your dad do?"

"He's a freelance writer."

"That explains a lot," the redhead giggled, playfully nudging her girlfriend.

"Yeah, he had quite an influence on me when I was little." Tamao looked up from her application at Nagisa. "You once said that your parents were business associates, right?"

The redhead nodded. "They work for an international strobe light company called Mill Specialties."

"'Strobe light'?"

"Yeah. Strobe lights, sirens..." Nagisa caught the poet's teasing grin, and aimed a light kick at her rear end. "Hey, hey. Those things can be in pretty high demand, you know."

Tamao laughed. "JK, JK...So, uh, tell me about your parents. What are they like?"

Nagisa rolled onto her back; for the two of them had been laying side-by-side on their tummies on the bed they shared.

"Well, honestly, Tamao-chan, I don't see my parents very much. All I have are some foggy childhood memories...But my dad's name is Aoi Komatsu, and my mom's name is Ansai Naomi." The redhead didn't know where to begin to describe them, so she decided to tell her aunt's story of how they met.

"Naomi was a very energetic and ambitious young woman working as a clerk for Mill Specialties in 1984. She sort of looks like me," Nagisa added, glancing at Tamao. "She has red hair and blue eyes."

"Her personality sounds like yours, too," said Tamao. "Energetic and ambitious."

"I never really thought that I was THAT ambitious."

"You are if you're applying to the U of T."

"Well, anyway...Naomi and Komatsu met at a board meeting. Komatsu immediately fell for her looks, and he admired her intelligence. The Mill Specialties in Vienna had been shut down, and, to avoid the MS being shut down in Japan, Naomi proposed that they form trade alliances with the chains in the United States and Great Britain. Her idea was taken to heart. Afterward, Komatsu got up the nerve to talk to her, he complimented her leadership skills, and they began dating. In May of 1985, they got married. In November of that same year they had their son, my brother, Aoi Hideshi." Nagisa sighed. "That's pretty much all I know about them."

"What 'foggy childhood memories' were you referring to earlier?" Tamao asked.

The redhead laughed quietly. "Oh, you're gonna love this...When I was little, my parents hardly ever went abroad. They worked evenings at the office. During the day while her kids were at school, there was nothing my mom loved more than a glass of wine and her favorite soap operas. But one winter day in...'99, I believe, school was closed for a snow day. Eventually Hideshi, Mikaya (my sister), and I drove Mom crazy with our horsing around. We were distracting her from _One Life To Live. _So she kicked us out."

Tamao gave a humorless, snorting laugh. "Horrible..."

Nagisa shrugged. "Eh, it was fun at first. We went sledding and ice skating... Sometime in the afternoon, we wanted to come back in, but Mom had locked us out. We pounded on the door and screamed. We'd threatened to notify authorities. Still no response. Then Mikaya decided that if one of us lay in the street, in danger of getting hit by a car, then Mom would have to let us back in. She and Hideshi offered me eight hundred yen to lay in the street."

Tamao gave her girlfriend a disapproving glance. "I do hope you didn't accept that offer."

"I did, actually."

"Nagisa-chan..." the poet sighed.

"Well, look, I was seven," the redhead defended herself. "There was nothing I wouldn't have done for some money." She paused. "And it worked."

Tamao blinked her amethyst eyes in shock. "You gut hit by a car?"

"No. A car stopped in front of me and beeped the horn until..." Nagisa started laughing. She held her sides, her body racked with helpless giggles. "...Until Mom came tearing out of the house in a robe and sandals, one of which she ended up losing in the snow...Her hair was a mess...But she took us back inside. Mikaya's plan worked to perfection."

Even though Tamao greatly disapproved of two kids taking advantage of their little sister's naivite, the mental image Nagisa painted of her mother was really hilarious. The poet laughed with her. The two set aside their applications in favor of this family chat.

"Now tell me about your parents," said Nagisa.

Tamao groaned. "Ugh, they're a wreck. Both of them." She sighed. "A lot of my childhood was spent with my father, Suzumi Arashi. My mom, Katayanagi Nobuyuki, spent a lot of her time at the firm."

"What kind of lawyer is she?" asked Nagisa. "Criminal justice?"

"Patent attorney."

The redhead blinked, and stared blankly at Tamao.

Tamao smiled. "She deals with copyright laws. If someone profits off a person's ideas, it's her job to prove that the idea does not belong to the theif.

"Anyway, I spent a lot of time with Arashi. He would often read to me. Most of the time he read fiction books, but occasionally I would make him read his own work."

"What kind of stuff did he write?"

"Fantasy, mostly. Stuff with elves, dragons, and princesses."

Nagisa could picture the scene: Arashi reading to Tamao. The redhead chuckled at the thought of a five-year-old Tamao growing up on a healthy literary diet of Faulkner, Joyce, and Steinbeck.

The poet frowned. "But as I grew older, Arashi developed an addiction to alcohol. He owns a bookstore in Harajuku, and if he came home at all, he would come home drunk as a lord." Tamao squeezed her eyes shut. "His necktie about his forehead, a bento box in one hand, a yellow bottle in the other...He would just stagger right in, have a fight with Nobuyuki, and then leave."

Nagisa absently looked at her OCC application. She wondered which was worse: not knowing your parents, or only knowing parents that hated each other.

Her head snapped up when she heard a shuffle, a thump --- Tamao had gotten up, her angry eyes bright with tears.

"Fury..." she gritted. "...does not even begin to describe...how I feel about my mother." Her eyes turned upward as the tears fell. "After Dad left, I thought it was just me and her, in on this together...But I'm telling you, Nagisa, the woman hated my very core. And I plan to find out why, even if it's with my dying breath!"

Before Nagisa could say anything, Tamao was out the door.


	6. You Can Pick Your Friends

Hello everyone!

Here is chapter six. Hopefully it will make up for how poor chapter five was.

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Six**

**You Can Pick Your Friends, But…**

"Tamao-chan, wait up!" Nagisa exclaimed, dashing down the stairs after her girlfriend. "Where are you going?"

Tamao simply ignored Nagisa. She burst out into the front lawn of Strawberry Dorms. Girls were retreating back to the big triangular building. One girl --- a girl Nagisa thought was behaving foolishly --- was heading out the gates.

The redhead seized Tamao by the collar of her uniform and, with all the strength she could muster, yanked her back through the gates.

"Where are you going?" Nagisa panted, out of breath. "You weren't going to leave Astraea Hill to confront your mother, were you?" The look on Tamao's face said it all. "Jeez, Tamao…"

"No! You don't understand!" The poet blushed once she realized that girls were stopping to watch. There was nothing they liked better than a good old-fashioned cat fight. Astraea Hill students were Olympic champions at gossip.

Tamao lowered her voice. "Never good enough." Her voice shook; she fought to control it. "I've never, ever been good enough. I got a 35 on the standard test, I'm in the top tenth percentile, and I'm still not good enough."

"For whom?" Nagisa asked.

"Nobuyuki! Who else?"

Shamed a bit, the redhead muttered, "M-maybe she's embarrassed because you're doing better than she did." She spoke more confidently, "35 is a perfect score, and only twenty students from our class are in the top tenth."

"So--- what you're saying is that I have to suffer for being successful?"

"Yeah. Maybe." Nagisa was feeling a bit frustrated. Before today, she had been satisfied with her 23 score and her 2.7 GPA. But now, with Tamao screaming out her 35 score, the redhead couldn't help but feel a little inferior. "Look, Tamao. You ought to love a person most when she's struggling, not when she's succeeding."

"She's my mother,": the poet responded shortly. "She should love me all the time."

Nagisa sighed and crossed her arms. The little genius seemed to have an answer for everything. Nagisa shook her head.

"She is your mother, but she's also a human being. She doesn't _have _to love you."

Tamao's face softened. For once, she was speechless.

Nagisa stepped closer to her girlfriend. "I don't know what her reasons are for not loving you. But unless she's clinically insane, I doubt that they're irrational."

"I can't think of any conceivable reason…" The poet trailed off and at that moment tears welled in her opalescent eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Nagisa took her in her arms, feeling Tamao sob into her sleeve, and again felt odd about this swap of roles. _Of course Tamao-chan has to be suffering somewhat, _the redhead realized. _She's successful, but success always has a bitter price. _The price was, in this case, her father.

"Why the hell are you taking HER side?" the poet bawled.

_I want to understand. I'm not taking anybody's side until then. _But Nagisa didn't say anything. She knew the last thing Tamao wanted or needed was a lecture. The redhead neither looked nor talked to Tamao; she simply held her until the poet was all cried out. Then they returned to their dorm for the day.

---

The next morning found Tamao waking up bright and early as usual. Unlike her girlfriend, Tamao's sleeping patterns were light, varied, and extremely irregular. Nagisa's sleeping patterns, on the other hand, tended to mimic those of a baby: deep, heavy, and could withstand loud explosions.

Tamao smiled appreciatively at her sleeping girlfriend. She brushed aside some auburn locks from her cheek. Thinking about yesterday, the poet never realized that Nagisa could be so…diplomatic. _I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, _thought Tamao, somewhat ruefully, _and I said some horrible things. And Nagisa-chan stayed calm the entire time. _Frankly, Tamao was pretty amazed.

The poet wrapped her arms around Nagisa and pulled her close. The redhead, of course, slept right through this. _She's not the sharpest tool in the box, _thought Tamao as she leaned her head on Nagisa's chest, _but she's a good shoulder to cry on._

Nagisa stirred and slowly came awake. She squinted a bit until her garnet eyes adjusted to the light filtering in from the curtains. She then felt and saw Tamao pressed up against her. The poet was staring out into space.

"Tamao-chan…" Nagisa murmured.

This seemed to startle Tamao, who suddenly raised her head up. She shifted a bit so she could face her lover. Nagisa's eyes were only half open, but they still burned with that familiar passion. Their color matched how Tamao felt.

"Good morning, sleepy head," the poet grinned.

Nagisa also smirked as she felt a witty retort bubble up. "Good morning, snory head."

"I don't snore," Tamao protested. Then she paused. "…Do I?"

"You talk in your sleep, too," the redhead stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh." Tamao giggled. Nagisa was still hands-down adorable when she first woke up. "What do I say?"

The redhead shrugged. "You mostly just babble. You make all sorts of interesting noises…There's one that sort of sounds like a dying whale." For demonstration, Nagisa closed her mouth and made a high-pitched moaning noise. It did sound like a whale…albeit a very sick whale.

Tamao's expression was one of mock hurt. "I've just been compared to a whale! That's it! You're sleeping in the other bed tonight."

"That's okay," Nagisa said dryly. "You won't be able to kick me if I'm in the other bed."

"Kicking, too?" The poet was incredulous. _Wow. I've had all kinds of weird sleeping habits that I never knew about. _"Next you're going to say that I'm a sleepwalker."

The redhead fell silent. Tamao gasped and sat upright. "No! You're kidding!"

Nagisa laughed. "Oh, would you give it up!" She pulled Tamao back down in bed and held her close. The two giggled at their joke, their faces getting closer until they were tenderly kissing. For some reason, Nagisa's body tended to be more sensitive when she first woke up, especially her lips. So Tamao's kissing really buoyed her up on an erotic cloud nine.

Nothing gold can last, though, and eventually Tamao broke off the kiss to apologize about yesterday. "It was rude of me to scream out my academic standing. And I pulled you into a situation that you didn't want to be in. I'm very sorry about that."

"Oh, I'm in this," Nagisa murmured, still blissful from the makeout session. She was holding Tamao's hand. "If I can support you and make you feel better, I'm in this with you all the way." She pushed an azure lock of hair out of the poet's violet eyes. "I understand your frustration toward your mother…but I don't understand the situation in its entirety."

Tamao sighed, "Maybe you will someday."

They were quiet a moment, the poet's statement hanging in the warm pre-summer air. Tamao kept her amethyst eyes on Nagisa, and when they shifted toward the clock, the redhead made a keen observation.

"Your eyes change color a lot."

Tamao's eyes shifted back to Nagisa. She looked puzzled. "What?"

Nagisa tried to explain. "Right now they're purple, but---look toward the window."

The poet complied. "Okay. Now what?"

"Now they're blue! That's so cool! How does that happen?"

"Probably something with the light." Tamao looked back at Nagisa, the color of her eyes shifting smoothly from ocean-blue to a slatey purple. She smiled. "You're really observant sometimes. That's what I love about you."

"And you're smart," Nagisa responded. _Okay, she lacks common sense, but she's booksmart. _"And that's what I love about you."

And they were kissing again, this time more aggressively so, their tongues coming into play. Nagisa sucked on Tamao's tongue, and the poet groaned. Tamao rolled on top of her girlfriend, still submerging her with passionate kisses, already undoing some buttons on the redhead's top. They had school that day, but a quickie never hurt anybody.

Nagisa whimpered as she felt Tamao pushing her bra up, her hand cupping her breast. The redhead's hand led a teasing stroke down Tamao's tummy, down her pants, until she felt something smooth, wet, and warm.

Tamao's spine jolted; her legs quivered. She felt Nagisa's fingers, scarily freezing against her, strumming her clitoris. Her muscles deep inside began to tighten involuntarily. She gasped her girlfriend's name as she started to rotate her hips, grinding the most sensitive part of her into Nagisa's hand.

Suddenly Nagisa felt something crawl along her collarbone. With a startled squeal that nearly gave poor Tamao a heart attack, she sat bolt upright.

"What's wrong?" Tamao asked.

"Sp-spider," the redhead panted, her scarlet eyes wide with terror. "There's a spider in the bed."

The poet briefly examined the sheets. Though there was no spider to be found, Tamao didn't doubt that Nagisa had felt something like it. She laughed. "Nagisa-chan, that was my _hair _you felt, not a spider!"

"Oh." Nagisa sighed with relief, but felt rather foolish. She looked pretty foolish, too. Her hair was messy. Her top was unbuttoned and half removed. One half of her bra was pushed up, revealing her left breast. And she'd just started a commotion over Tamao's hair. She laughed with the poet.

That little incident therefore lent a playful quality to the steamy sex they had that morning.

* * *

Augh, I'm exhausted. This week is finals week, and I haven't been able to sleep. And I haven't eaten since breakfast. I had my American Lit. final and my Band final today. I think the band director set the bar extremely low for me and my fellow section-mate because "French horn is hard to play." Ehh, we'll see what my report card says. I get to go home in two days!

NEXT CHAPTER: Yaya and Tsubomi are having problems...


	7. Get Your Yaya's Out!

Alrighty, here's the seventh chapter. The title was based off an old saying my grandmother used when I was little. ("Yaya" is Greek for "Grandmother," did you know that?) Haha, I used my experiences with job hunting to help me write this. Some of my experience is beautiful, most of it is ugly as you'll see...

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Seven**

**Get Your Yaya's Out!**

"Seriously? You plan to beg for a job in THAT?"

Yaya stood in the doorway, decked out in a red T-shirt and denim hot pants. Her expression was deadpan, and could've fooled even the most skilled poker player.

Tsubomi, who was dressed more conservatively in her usual skirt and cashmere sweater outfit, crossed her arms, but said nothing. Yaya had been behaving strangely lately. Usually the senpai would have a ready retort to Tsubomi's criticism; now she was just plain unresponsive.

The pinkette took Yaya's arm and led her back to her dorm. "Yaya-senpai, those managers won't care if you're fifteen or fifty --- they simply won't hire you if you come in dressed like that."

Yaya merely grunted.

The two girls received the shock of their combined lifespans when Tsubomi burst into Yaya's dorm without knocking only to find Hikari in the process of changing clothes.

"Get out! Get out!" the blonde cried.

And they did.

While they waited for the former Étoile to give the all-clear sign, Tsubomi stared at Yaya, waiting for her to make some wiseass remark about how Hikari looked without clothes on. Nothing. Yaya just stared at her shoes, her face expressionless.

_What is wrong with her? _the kouhai wondered.

The door opened, and Hikari popped out.

"Sorry for yelling at you guys," said she, doing up the last button on her blue argyle cardigan, "but you really scared me."

"'Pology accepted," Yaya muttered, ambling inside. She closed the door behind her.

"You're coming to the job fair?" Tsubomi inquired.

"Oh, yeah," Hikari nodded, waving her hand expressively. Sometimes she could be so girly. "I need the money…So, uh," she dropped her voice down to a whisper. "What's eating _her?_" She flicked a thumb at the door.

Tsubomi just shrugged. She would have liked to dump this on Hikari, just to get it off her chest, but a better part of her told her not to disclose this just yet.

She shrugged, and Hikari tilted her head, her blue eyes widening briefly before returning to their original size. Awkward silence.

Suddenly, and rather rudely, the door boomed open and Yaya came out. Now she was wearing black dress pants and a red blouse. She raised an eyebrow at Tsubomi, as if to say, _Is this better?_

"Much better," Tsubomi nodded.

The job fair was held in the court yard. There were booths set up for every hiring company. Lines longer than a football field stretched from the booths. Off in a corner of the court, several kiosks with electronic applications were set up.

"I'm going for quality and being myself," Hikari declared, unaware that she had just contradicted herself.

Tsubomi pulled the list of places she'd applied to out of her bag. Her first interview was with a pizza place called Giovanni's. She wished her senpais good luck, they said likewise, and the three girls went their separate ways.

---

Tsubomi thought her interview with Giovanni's went nicely. The manager was a jolly fellow with neatly cropped brown hair, a goatee, and a brilliant smile. His name was Dan. For an American, Lugano Dan's Japanese was flawless. His and Tsubomi's conversation branched beyond the formal "and-what-hourly-wage-are-you-expecting-to-earn-here" chat into discussions about school life. Dan had gone to private school in his younger years, and he had children enrolled in a private school in Osaka; he said that Japanese private schooling was very different than American private schooling. At the end of the interview Tsubomi bowed, Dan said maybe he'd call her for a second interview, and the pinkette departed, filled with hope.

Her hope was brought back down to earth during her interview with the manager of Hiro's Part Shop.

"We're…no longer hiring, you know," she said, peering over her glasses at Tsubomi. The manager hadn't even bothered to take out her application.

Tsubomi blinked. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm afraid I'm confused." The manager had neglected to introduce herself as well. "I thought all the places here---"

The manager silenced her with a wave of her hand. "Let me explain. We companies applied for this fair weeks ago when we were hiring. Some of these places are still hiring. Others…" She lowered her chin and actually seemed to glare at Tsubomi. "…are NOT."

The pinkette scraped her throat and averted her gaze. She resisted the temptation to say, "It's not my fault you're not hiring! Now give me my damn interview so that waiting two hours in line was worth it!"

Instead she said, "Well, I hope you'll keep my application for consideration in case someday you _are _hiring." She rose from her seat and bowed. "Thank you for your time."

The manager nodded vaguely and waved her off.

Once she was far enough away from the booth, Tsubomi slapped her forehead and muttered, "_Jeez!_"

---

No one had informed Hikari of the cardinal rule of a job interview: _Kiss the manager's ass. _Her tactic was to be honest. During her interview for a job at Mc Donald's, when she was asked why she wanted to work for the company, she responded, "I like the cute little hats that the employees wear." What was she supposed to say?

"I want to work for Mc Donald's because it is, in my opinion, the greatest opportunity to showcase my leadership skills in the best eatery this country has seen since bento boxes were invented."

Hikari said she liked the hats, and the manager turned her application facedown on the table and said, "Give me a break."

---

Meanwhile, in a seemingly less fruitful end of the fair, Yaya was awaiting her turn for an interview with a manager from Taro's World. Taro's World was the hottest new kids' anime, and, Yaya thought, it gave the children of Japan an early lesson on fascism and totalitarianism. Taro was a slovenly obese marmalade cat who had managed to convince the impoverished nation of Alata that the mice were to blame for the country's problems. Not only was it a show, it had an indoor amusement park as well.

Yaya had found this opportunity on the website Souma's List, which could show you available jobs in your prefecture. The employees of Taro's World role played either Taro the cat or a mouse. They were currently looking for mice. Yaya could only imagine the daily torture of playing the most hated creature in Alata, but applied for the job anyway.

Now Yaya was patiently waiting her turn. Ahead of her the manager asked a perspective employee, "Why do you want to be a mouse?"

The brunette understood that this was a problem question. The woman answered, "I want to be a mouse? Because it's a great career opportunity? Because prior to this I worked at a restaurant that was owned by this really wonderful woman? And ever since she was a girl she'd had this dream of one day opening her very own restaurant? And I realized the importance of…having…a…dream?"

Every sentence this woman spoke, every single phrase, was punctuated with a question mark, and the manager never even blinked. When Yaya's turn came and she was asked why she wanted to be a mouse, she answered that she wanted to be a mouse because it was one of the most frightening career opportunities that she'd come across. The manager looked up and said, "_And…?_"

Yaya was asked if she wanted to be a part-time mouse or a full-time mouse.

She said, "Part-time mouse."

She had an appointment scheduled for next Saturday.

_I am a fifth year applying for a job as a mouse._

When Yaya was little, she frequently went to amusement parks with her family, where she would see people dressed as cartoon characters from Japanese and American productions. Sailor Moon, Lucky Star, Scooby Doo, Hamtaro, Spongebob Squarepants. Even as a child Yaya thought, _You poor old idiot. I don't know what you've got, but I hope to God I don't catch it. _It really broke her heart to see a grown man dressed as a Charmander. She'd never imagined that she would be one of these people.

---

It was pretty close to 1800 hours when the Spicans got back to the dorms, leaving the Astraea Hill Job Fair conquered (hopefully) in their wake. In the lobby Hikari detached herself from Yaya and Tsubomi to check for mail. On the way back to Yaya's dorm, Tsubomi spontaneously took her hand. The senpai reciprocated the gesture, but hesitatingly so, lest the fear she felt nowadays would overtake her.

They reached Yaya's dorm and stood there, staring at one another. With a sigh, Tsubomi casually swung hers and Yaya's arms back and forth. _What is it with this first date awkwardness? We've been going out for nearly a year! _Tsubomi distantly recalled the time when she was twelve and Yaya was fourteen --- Yaya had made the mistake of kissing Hikari, forcing her volatile emotions on the blonde girl, and afterward had been reduced to a depressive wreck, hiding out in friends' dorms, ditching class and choir practice. Tsubomi's eyebrows lowered suspiciously over her golden eyes. _Something's wrong. Something happened to her._

"Yaya," she said at length.

The senpai looked back at her, her face as plain and unreadable as ever.

Yaya's cold shoulder would cow any other girl, but not the obstinate Tsubomi, who stepped closer and touched her face gently. "If there's something going on --- something you need to talk about --- I'm here. I'll listen."

Again, Yaya averted her brown eyes; and she nodded. With an effort, she pulled away from the kouhai and headed towards her door.

"Yaya-senpai." Tsubomi sounded a bit sterner now.

Yaya halted, but didn't turn around. Her heart was racing. Her eyes hurt. If she had to face Tsubomi, the brunette was sure that she would pass out. Yaya's vision filled with black spots, and she teetered a bit. She really needed a glass of cold water, and to lay down.

"Maybe you should turn in for the evening, Tsubomi…san." Right now the cutesy "chan" honorific seemed inappropriate to Yaya. Before the kouhai could say anything, Yaya opened the door, darted inside, and slammed it.

For a second, Tsubomi stood there, staring at the door, her eyes wide with surprise. Then a horrible rage seized her, filling her head with black. Why was Yaya doing this? What had Tsubomi done to deserve this? With an agonized roar, the kouhai slammed her foot into the door.

"You suck, Yaya-senpai! I hate you!" And at that moment only, Tsubomi truly meant what she said. She beat the door with her fists and kicked it, as if it were the brunette. "I was _here, _this entire time, supporting you, being there for you, and you do this to me?! Well, _FUCK YOU!_" And, blind with fury, she turned and ran down the hall. An immense pain constricted within her very core. She felt as if someone were pulling her intestines right out of her, hand over hand, a yard at a time. Her throat burned.

_I think I'm going to throw up._

Fortunately there was a bathroom nearby. Tsubomi ducked inside, locked herself in a stall. There she got on her knees and leaned over the toilet, but nothing came up. She could only gag. The gagging turned into sobbing as her anger drained out of her, leaving the kouhai with sorrow and regret. _It's over. And it's all my fault._

"It's all my fault," she whimpered out loud, which unleashed another round of sobbing. She settled down on the cold bathroom tiles and cried hysterically, riding the highest crests and the lowest troughs of her emotions. Eventually she ended up curling around the base of the toilet, and she passed into a fitful slumber.

---

In an off-corner of the dorm lobby, a door led to the mail room. There Hikari stood, scanning the little mail boxes. They were arranged according to dorm number.

"78A…78A…" she muttered. "There it is!" She pulled the key out of her bag and unlocked the mail box.

It was mostly junk mail. Information about the standard test fifth years took every year. Letters from hers and Yaya's families. Scholarship opportunities. The usual.

Hikari almost missed an important letter. But the name Ohtori Amane and the Kyoto return address caught her eye. She blinked a bit. Then her blue eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat.

"Amane-senpai," she whispered.

It was the first shred of contact the two had since Amane went to St. Ninnian University in Kyoto. Hikari had managed to distract herself with choir activities and Yaya and Tsubomi's antics; but now, with Amane's letter right there in her hands, the blonde realized how long it had been since they last talked, since they last kissed…

Hikari didn't waste any time. She tore open the envelope. She sat down on the floor, her back against the wall, and read the letter to herself.

_Dear Hikari,_

_I'm sorry this letter is late. School and my part-time job have had me crazy-busy. There's a woman at my work who takes a lot of vacation time, and I frequently have to fill her position…Um, anyways…_

_How is school and choir and everything? I'm still laughing at the senior honors choir concert last year, when Yaya started singing the wrong song. Even funnier than the look on her face was the look on yours when you told her. Priceless._

_I still do horseback riding, but on my own time. Frankly, the St. Ninnian horseback team sucks. The coach is incompetent and I quit after the first meet (we lost)._

_Incidentally, however, I'm a bit worried about Shizuma. She seems to have dropped out. Last night I was at Bar Louie, and she was actually bounced from the bar, that was how resistant she was to leave. Apparently she goes on lots of solo bar crawls (that's when you go around the town, stopping at every bar for a drink or ten). It's depressing, Hikari --- bar crawls are made to be done with friends…or a lover ;)_

_I really miss you. I think about you constantly. Last night I was trying to do my homework, but I was just so delirious thinking about you. But hey, maybe I can come back to Astraea Hill for a visit. Actually, my summer's basically free. You'll see me either during the Drama Festival or the beach trip. I can't wait to see you. Until then._

_Love,_

_Amane_

Every word hit Hikari with the force of a category-five typhoon. She pressed the letter close to her face. It even smelled like Amane. _I miss you, too, _she thought, her turquoise eyes swimming. She pulled the letter back and read it several more times. In the fifth paragraph, Amane had actually written _making love to you _where _thinking about you _was written, but had crossed it out. Hikari found this out by turning the letter over and holding it toward the fluorescent lights; there, backwards, she could read the censored words. They made her heart spring into a gallop, and her face reddened.

"Wow, Amane-senpai."

_Oh, settle down, Hikari, _she told herself with a grin. _Like you haven't thought about her like that, too._

Hikari then realized how long she had been down in the mail room. She had kept Yaya waiting too long. The blonde hurriedly got up, grabbed up all their mail, and rushed back to her dorm.

---

When Hikari walked into her dorm, she found Yaya sitting at the edge of her bed, her head lowered. The blonde walked up to her, her eyebrows raised with concern. Yaya didn't seem to notice her. The brunette just sat in utter silence, her brown eyes flat and devoid of emotion.

"Y-Yaya-chan," Hikari stuttered. Yaya didn't respond; Hikari tried a more verbal way to get her attention. She tipped the brunette's chin up with her fingers. Yaya appeared to have been crying.

"What's wrong?"

Yaya drew in a shaky breath. "I'm losing her, Hikari."

Hikari blinked. "Who?"

"Tsubomi…I don't know what I'm doing. But now…I just don't know what to say to her…A-and now she h-h-hates me…" Yaya sniffled, and fresh tears sprang into her eyes.

"She doesn't hate you," the blonde muttered softly. "You know what a nasty temper Tsubomi has sometimes…"

Yaya glared; she was frustrated with Hikari's naïveté. "She _said _it, Hikari. She said 'I hate you.'"

"She probably didn't mean it…" Hikari hardly knew what to say. Nothing seemed to make Yaya feel better in these situations. Of all the couples she knew, she never expected her two best friends to be the ones to run out of things to say to each other.

Yaya started sobbing fitfully, and she clung to Hikari. "I…I told her about…my family."

Hikari's eyes popped open wide. _Oh, my God. No wonder. _She gently stroked Yaya's raven locks and whispered, "You didn't tell her…about St. Dominic Sunrise Singers, did you?"

The name of the old choir Yaya participated in, directed by her father, made her cry harder. "No…No, I didn't tell her about that…Ohh," she moaned miserably. "What am I going to do?"

The blonde sighed, and dropped her arms. She had some advice to impart, but she doubted Yaya would take it. "Well, uh, Yaya-chan, don't just string her along. Either stay with her or break up with her, but don't trap her in the middle…"

"I'm just…scared," the brunette hiccupped. "I mean, I've never told anyone this, you know? I've never let people see me this way. And it just scares me. I know Tsubomi knows about this side of me, but I don't want things to change too much. I want us to still be able to pal around and fight."

Hikari couldn't resist a bit of humor. "Well, have no fear. You and Tsubomi may never stop fighting as long as you both can breathe and yell."

"Easy for you to say…"

---

Eventually Yaya had stopped crying. Now it was nearly midnight and she lay awake, contemplating everything Hikari had said.

_Either stay with her or break up with her, but don't trap her in the middle._

Clearly, they had reached a cross-roads. It was up to Yaya to decide which direction they'd take. Would they go left and break up? Or would they go right and stay together? The pressure to make this decision weighed so heavily on Yaya's shoulders that it threatened to crush her.

After some hard thought, Yaya rolled over onto her stomach, made her decision, and went to sleep.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

I have a few things to say concerning this chapter...

Those interviews those girls underwent were based off actual interviews I've undergone. I'm not joking, guys, there seriously are managers out there who are just like the one from Hiro's Party Shop. (I've been declined a job from a party shop; that bitch of a manager wouldn't even hold my application for the required 60 days.) Hopefully you found the job interview portion amusing :)

Yaya's fear of getting too close might be ridiculous, but it's real. She might not be too crazy to fear intimacy.

NEXT CHAPTER: What do Chiyo and Kagome got to do with Yaya and Tsubomi?


	8. Girl Problems

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Eight**

**Girl Problems**

Her emerald eyes adjusting to the darkness, wee Kagome roamed the aisles of the Miator library. Summer break was coming up, and just last period her History teacher had assigned the class to read Machiavelli's _The Prince _and answer questions about it over break. Kagome could've easily found the political Renaissance book in the Lulim library, but she wanted to see Chiyo.

Since the card catalogue system here was severely outdated, the Lulim girl had to manually search the Non-Fiction section. She had located several other famous Renaissance works such as _Inferno _and _Utopia, _but _The Prince _was nowhere to be found. She suspected that the other AP History classes had already heard of this assignment and cleared out the library.

Kagome was absent-mindedly flipping through another book by Niccolò Machiavelli, _The Life of Castruccio Castracani of Lucca, _when she was suddenly seized from behind in a tight embrace by a certain librarian.

"I thought you'd come here," Chiyo grinned as she kissed Kagome's ear.

Kagome smiled as delicious shivers shot up her spine. She turned around so she could embrace Chiyo face-to-face.

"How's it holding up here, _librarian?_" Kagome whispered the nickname flirtatiously. She brought her arms around Chiyo's neck and Eskimo kissed her.

"Pretty dead here for a while," Chiyo responded, "but I know how to keep myself entertained."

"Mmm, how do you do that?"

"All day long I think about doing this to you…" And Chiyo kissed Kagome. The first kiss was no more than a chaste brush of the lips; then it became a full-on liplock with enough passion to make an anti-fur vegan look cold.

Kagome moaned and pressed close to her girlfriend, seemingly lost in the moment. Her hands faltered, and she actually felt like she was melting in Chiyo's arms. The librarian made her kisses more aggressive. She was fueled by the sexual energy that had built up within her all day. It was only when Kagome felt her back come in contact with the shelf behind her that she was brought back down to earth.

"Chiyo-chan, we can't do this here. It's a library."

"Ah, girls come here all the time to do it."

"And, anyways, I came here to get a book."

"_The Prince_?"

"Yes," Kagome said matter-of-factly. She blinked. "How did you know?"

"Like I said, for a while here it was dead --- then everyone starts showing up, looking for _The Prince. _AP types, I can tell, they said it was for a summer reading assignment. And, since you're an AP nerd as well, I figured soon enough you'd come by to take out a copy. I set one aside, just for you."

"Aww, how thoughtful of you." Kagome kissed Chiyo on the cheek. Then she giggled. "Awwww, Chiyo-chan's blushing!"

"Well, you know…" the librarian muttered gruffly, blushing more deeply.

Kagome continued to laugh as she took Chiyo's hand, the two of them heading for the front desk. This was her favorite game to play with Chiyo. Everytime Kagome said something like "Aww," Chiyo would blush; then the Lulim girl would point out that Chiyo was blushing, and it would make the librarian blush even more. Kagome used to be brusque in regards to love; she never realized being in love with somebody could be so much _fun._

Chiyo got behind her desk, and pulled _The Prince _out from the "Reserved" bin underneath. Kagome took out her library card, Chiyo scanned it, and _The Prince _was Kagome's for two weeks.

"I tried reading that book while waiting for you," said Chiyo. "For the life of me, I could not understand it."

"It's an Italian political sciences book from the 1500's. Some background knowledge of the Renaissance would definitely help," Kagome explained.

"…Which I'm assuming you've got in spades, eh?"

"Well, no…" the Lulim girl muttered sheepishly. "I'll have to do some research."

"What's a 'principality'?" Chiyo asked. When Kagome seemed confused she explained, "That Machiavelli guy just goes on and on about them."

"Oh! It's like a kingdom, except it's ruled by a prince."

It was then that the library door creaked open, the brief shock of sunlight illuminating countless dust motes, and Tsubomi stalked in. The Spican looked as neat and put together as ever, but she exuded an air of dishevelment. She reeled in, nearly tripping over the coat rack.

Chiyo's eyes narrowed. "What's _she _doing here?" Her Miator/Spica rivalry with the pinkette aside, Chiyo knew that Tsubomi was no longer allowed here. The librarian had a hunch that the Spican was here for a copy of _The Prince._

_Tough luck, Okuwaka, _thought Chiyo. She turned to her computer, a clunky old PC that was older than the hills, and brought up Tsubomi's old account information.

Tsubomi came up to the desk and leaned tiredly on it. "Hello, Kagome-chan. Chiyo-chan." Her voice was flat; it carried not one note of emotion. "I want to borrow a book…"

"Hold on," Chiyo balked. "You mean that you've forgotten about the ban on your account?"

Tsubomi blinked sluggishly. "Why?"

"Oh, uh…" Chiyo pretended to think it over. "Over one hundred and twenty million yen of late fees between you and Yaya-oneesama?"

The name bit Tsubomi in the heart and she flinched. "I thought you erased all that." The lion's share of those fees came from Yaya borrowing books on Tsubomi's account; Yaya's had already been suspended for the same reason.

"Erase it?" Chiyo laughed. "Yeah, right. Like I'm worth a hundred and twenty million yen to this place." With an effort, the librarian turned the enormous circa '89 computer screen around so that Tsubomi could read her account information.

_NAME Tsubomi, Okuwaka_

_STATUS Banned_

_LATE FEES ¥ 123,005,014_

_INFORMATION Returned Twilight 438 days late and couldn't come up with the money. Claimed she borrowed it as a joke. Do not let her borrow books here. She is scum._

Tsubomi sighed and rubbed her sore eyes; Kagome could see that they were darker than usual. "C'mon, Chiyo, be a pal. I need this book for school."

"_The Prince_?"

The pinkette nodded.

"Well, all those copies are taken out anyway."

Tsubomi's frown deepened. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples. "Okay. Whatever."

"What's wrong, Tsubomi-chan?" Kagome finally asked. She could see the pinkette was tired. Not just on the outside, but she seemed to be suffering from a deep internal exhaustion. And she was being unusually complacent where she'd normally be argumentative.

Tsubomi opened her eyes a little and looked dully at Kagome. "I'm fine," she practically whispered.

The Lulim girl was as far from convinced as Tokyo was far from London. But she knew Tsubomi wouldn't discuss the issue here. She held out her copy of _The Prince. _"Here. Borrow my copy. I can just renew it."

For the first time, emotion showed in Tsubomi's face and voice. "Thank you, Kagome," said she, sounding genuinely appreciative as she accepted the book. She bade them both _adieu _and left.

---

She knew it was useless, but Tsubomi couldn't help but feel a little shred of hope when she walked into choir class. Her hope crashed down with what was left of her good spirits when she didn't see Yaya there. A virtual sore formed in her heart for what she felt now was the bitterest contempt.

_That coward. She can't even face me._

All day there had been an agonizing knot in Tsubomi's stomach. It tightened, amplifying the pain, whenever she thought of Yaya. Just now, as she was faced only by Hikari, did the pinkette feel that knot tighten more.

_I hate her! _Tsubomi told herself. _I hate her!!! _That always helped the knot loosen.

Hikari tried to tell Tsubomi that Yaya had the flu and that was why she wasn't attending classes. But Hikari was a horrible liar, and Tsubomi saw right through her. Still, the kouhai appreciated the former Étoile's attempt to make her feel better.

Choir class was a living hell that day. The simple act of singing made Tsubomi think of Yaya, therefore tightening that knot. She just stopped singing, moving her lips soundlessly instead. _I hate her! I hate her!_

_Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that, Tsubomi._

The pinkette winced as that thought crept unannounced into her head.

After choir class Tsubomi exited the cathedral to be met by Kagome. The Lulim girl bore with her a picnic basket.

"Want to do lunch together?"

Tsubomi blinked and slowly removed her cap. She suspected Kagome wanted to do more than just eat together. The Spican decided to let her down easy. "Wouldn't you rather have lunch with Chiyo?"

"Chiyo-chan is still on library duty, and Tsubomi-chan looks awfully hungry," Kagome added gently.

The pinkette brought a hand to her ribcage, suddenly conscious of how hungry she was. That damned knot in her stomach had exorcised any appetite from her.

In the end Tsubomi gave in, and she and Kagome did lunch together by the lake under the shade of a sycamore tree. There wasn't a lot of talk. Kagome just stared at Tsubomi, wordlessly chewing her dumpling, as if she expected the Spican to say or do something.

Tsubomi stared at her dumpling. It was funny how appealing food could be until it was right there in front of you. She squeezed her eyes shut and choked down a little bite of dumpling. Once the bolus hit her stomach, it kick started a ravenous appetite, and the pinkette began wolfing down her food as if she hadn't eaten in seven years. The food tasted sour in her mouth, but whatever. She wolfed and snarfed until she began to cry pitifully. With some dumpling still in her mouth she cried like a little kid: her palms over her eyes.

Kagome still didn't say anything. She knew Yaya had something to do with this. She silently inched closer to the sobbing Spican, and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Tsubomi cried harder and clung to Kagome, soaking the Lulim girl's uniform with her tears.

"I'm such a st-stupid bitch!" Tsubomi hiccupped. "I ruined everything!"

"What did you ruin?" Kagome asked softly, stroking Tsubomi's fuschia locks.

"It…It's over, Kagome. Yaya and I broke up…" If it were possible, that very sentence made Tsubomi cry harder. She was in so much pain; the knot in her stomach twisted so tight that it had finally broken completely.

"Did…Yaya-oneesama _say _that it was over?"

"No…"

"Then what makes you think that it's over?"

"She's flat-out avoiding me, Kagome!" Now Tsubomi seemed a bit peevish; a shred of her old self finally showing. "Why would she avoid me if she didn't want to break up with me?"

"How long has she been avoiding you?" Kagome inquired.

"Since…" It suddenly hit Tsubomi for the first time. "…Since she told me she thought of herself as a failure…"

Kagome blinked, a deep concern in her green eyes. "Tell me about that."

A little reluctantly at first, Tsubomi told Kagome about her birthday. This was such a private thing to be telling somebody. But then, Tsubomi could trust Kagome with this. The Lulim girl never gossiped. Who knew how much she actually knew about everyone at Astraea Hill?

Kagome sighed and tapped her chin pensively. "Well…Maybe…it's like a below-the-belt thing for her. Maybe she's so vulnerable where this is concerned, and she's afraid that you'll use this to hurt her."

"I would never do that! I love her!"

Kagome peered intently at Tsubomi. "Tsubomi. You call her 'idiot,' 'dimwit,' and 'stupid.'"

"I'm only joking when I do that! And I thought Yaya-senpai knew that."

The Lulim girl bit her lip and shrugged.

Tsubomi sighed. "So…What do I do?"

"Talk to her." Kagome leaned forward and spoke confidently. "Don't let this just hang there in the air, or else you two _will _drift apart. If you talk to her, you can salvage your relationship."

---

Yaya and Tsubomi spent their Saturday evening at Taro's World in Osaka; they had been allowed off campus to attend this important meeting. They were in a back room behind the amusement park --- a poorly lit room that looked like a classroom lined with NCR2162. An NCR2162, Tsubomi came to understand, was a cash register.

Everything about the cash register intimidated Tsubomi. Operating it required memorization of several codes. There was a code for cash, check, and each type of credit card. The term _Void _gained prominence in Tsubomi's vocabulary as the filthiest four-letter word EVER. Voids can occur for several reasons. If, for example, a customer finds that he or she doesn't have enough cash and so wants to put the purchase on his or her card…VOID! Voids have a series of difficult codes and numbers, and require a log-in by an employee. Experienced cashiers of Taro's World helped Tsubomi learn the ugliness of voids by saying "helpful" things like, "You haven't memorized your personal ID code? Jesus, I had mine memorized by seven o'clock."

Tsubomi's worst nightmare involved a mile-long line in Taro's World, all the customers thoroughly furious at her utter lack of competence. They would probably tar and feather her, scream death threats at her, and at that point proper operation of the cash register simply would not matter to the Spican. She would pry open her cash register and accept anything from these people.Anything. Jewels, beads, etcetera. She would stamp their credit cards through the masher, write "Nice knowin' ya!" at the bottom, and send them off in hopes of never having to deal with them again.

Thoroughly shaken, the two girls scurried out of Taro's World. It was maybe 1930 hours, and the moon waxed full. While they waited to jaywalk across a busy street, Tsubomi decided now was the time to talk to Yaya.

"Yaya-senpai," she sighed. "I don't…think you're a failure at all. In fact, I, uh, think you're terrific." _God, you're horrible at apologizing._

"Well, it doesn't matter what you think in this case," Yaya said flatly.

Ouch. Tsubomi glared. "Hey! What are you saying?"

Yaya turned furiously on Tsubomi. "Of course you could never ever understand what I went through. Look at you. You're in AP classes, a secretary of the student council, and next year you're going to be in the National Honors Society. Your family must love you to pieces." The senpai had drawn out the word "love" harshly.

Without thinking, Tsubomi slapped Yaya. The brunette's eyes widened, and she gazed in shock at the pinkette.

"You ignorant stupid fucking retard! You don't know jack shit about my family! Stop being so goddamn selfish!"

The street seemed clear. Tsubomi turned away from Yaya, her vision blinded with tears, and she ran out into the street. Her mind was still somewhat preoccupied with thoughts of her failing relationship with Yaya when she saw the blinding twin headlights, heard the blaring blast of a horn. Then, the only thought she remembered having that instant was, _This is it. _She tensed her body and shut her eyes.

Tsubomi felt something ram into her from the side, mid-air for a moment, then her body slammed face-first against the street. She skidded a few inches, and blacked out a moment. When she opened her eyes, she saw the truck stopping a few meters ahead. The door swung open and a fat man jumped out. Tsubomi could taste blood in her mouth.

"Are you okay?" the man asked. Before Tsubomi could respond, he sucked in his breath. "Oh, shit." He ran away from her, towards something else. "Oh, no…Is she dead?"

_Is who dead? _the pinkette wondered, slowly sitting up. She felt a pang of horror as she beheld the broken bloody body of Yaya laying in the street where she had stood only seconds ago.

The man was already calling an ambulance.

It then hit Tsubomi.

_I didn't get hit. Yaya pushed me out of the way…and she got hit…_


	9. Comes a Time

Here's chapter nine, finally. When I first started writing it, I was pretty dissatisfied with how it was going; it just seemed really incoherent. By the end, though, it seemed to finally take the direction I wanted it to go. Enjoy!

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Nine**

**Comes a Time**

Tsubomi couldn't even remember a time in her life when she was in this much pain. She had ugly scrapes on her face from when she skidded on the street which bled freely before the doctor applied bandages. Her nose hurt a lot. Whenever she moved her mouth it sent unbearable shocks up the bridge to her eyes. Tsubomi also had quite a handsome reddish-purple bruise on her side from when Yaya rammed into her.

But the part of her that hurt the most was her heart.

She'd never needed to be near Yaya this urgently. She practically had a nervous breakdown when the doctor insisted on giving her a CAT scan. Yaya was the one who needed a CAT scan, not Tsubomi. The pinkette just wanted to see her.

Now the doctor was putting some plastic thing on the bridge of her nose. He wasn't being too gentle either. He just kept forcing the thing on her nose, and it hurt like a bitch. Why did doctors always say that it wouldn't hurt when it always did?

"You are very lucky, Tsubomi," he told her. "A few inches deeper, and your nose would've pierced into your brain, and you would've died. But all you've got are some scratches and a broken nose. Very lucky."

Tsubomi could only pray that Yaya would be this lucky.

---

There was a private waiting section in the Osaka Community Hospital. Right now that room was occupied by Nagisa, Tamao, Kizuna, Remon, Kagome, and Chiyo. Hikari had also come, but she was currently with Tsubomi. The seven of them had been given permission to leave campus to see Yaya and Tsubomi.

It was very late, almost 2345 hours, later than anyone was used to staying up. Nagisa dozed off on the couch, her head in Tamao's lap. The poet was doing sudoku puzzles. Chiyo occupied the coffee pot, filling herself up with the energizing nectar. It was burned and tasted like motor oil, but so what? It was the only thing keeping her awake. Kagome was reading _Eragon. _Kizuna and Remon played Egyptian Ratscrew, but since they were so tired their reflexes were horrible.

As heavy a sleeper as Nagisa was, her head still popped up with everyone else's when Hikari came back in.

"How's Tsubomi-chan?" Tamao asked.

Hikari smiled a little. "She's going to be fine." She gestured around her face. "The worst she's got is a broken nose from when her face hit the pavement."

Kizuna cringed.

"Yaya-chan?" Now Tamao's voice was more serious.

Hikari's smile faded. She hated having to repeat news about her best friend like this. "I don't know. She's still in surgery."

Yaya hadn't exactly gotten run over by the truck, just slammed. Still, the deep bruising in her stomach raised concerns that her spleen had been ruptured. And that was all Hikari knew.

The blonde sighed and leaned tiredly against the wall. She had a headache great enough for eleven elephants. It had just been a regular old day for her until she received the call that Yaya and Tsubomi were involved in an automobile accident. Just an ordinary day…ending in the hospital. _This is the kind of thing you'd expect to happen to someone else, _thought Hikari. Then she thought, _Unfortunately, we're ALL someone else to someone else._

"Are we…allowed to see her?" asked Remon. "Tsubomi-chan, I mean."

"I…I don't know. I just don't know." Hikari had been answering questions all night, disappointing several people with her lack of knowledge. She slid downward until she was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall, her face buried in her arms. She appeared to be crying. But when Kagome inched closer to her, she revealed that Hikari was actually sleeping.

"It's been a rough night for her," Tamao said sympathetically.

They decided to visit Tsubomi in little groups. After a little argument, it was decided that Tamao and Nagisa would visit her first.

Tsubomi was sitting in a chair in a funny-smelling recovery room. The room had two beds, a curtain pulled between the beds, and lots of noisy machinery. There was a sofa, arm chairs, cabinets, and a TV. A door off to the side led to a private bathroom.

A few bandages graced the pinkette's forehead and cheeks. A plastic cast had been taped over her nose. Tamao gazed at the cast, knowing that Tsubomi's nose would heal crooked.

"Hey, Tsubomi-chan," Nagisa greeted, trying to sound upbeat.

The Spican snapped out of her trance long enough to greet them. Then she settled back down in her chair, her hazel eyes dull, her whole being withdrawn deep inside her.

"Um, how're you feeling?" Tamao asked.

"Like crap," Tsubomi said flatly, then fell broodingly silent again.

An awkward pause fell over the room. Tamao and Nagisa found chairs some distance from the kouhai, but Tsubomi said, "If, uh, you don't mind…I kind of wanted to be alone." Seeing Nagisa's offended expression, she added, "I appreciate you coming to visit, but I just need to think."

"Of course." Tamao popped back up, and pulled her more reluctant girlfriend up. "Get well, Tsubomi-chan."

"_Domo. _Bye, Tamao-senpai. Nagisa-senpai."

Tsubomi sighed and focused her gaze on The Mouse Guide, the little booklet she'd received at the meeting at Taro's World. She had to resist the impulse to finger the cast on her nose. Even the gentlest touch sent bolts of agony through her face.

_It could be worse, _she thought. Tsubomi could've gotten hit by that truck and get turned into roadkill. But thanks to Yaya, she would be okay. However, there was still the very real possibility that Yaya could die.

Tsubomi huffed. _That dope. Didn't she know that she would get hit if she pushed me out of the way?_

_Of course she did._

Tsubomi blinked. It suddenly occurred to her that Yaya had intended to risk death just to keep the kouhai alive. This was serious. Did Yaya really love Tsubomi that much?

_She may not want to live without me, _thought the pinkette, _but I can't live without her. _Because of Yaya's seemingly selfless act, though, Tsubomi just might. As much as she appreciated what the senpai had done, Tsubomi couldn't help but think of it as passing on a burden rather than making a sacrifice.

_What am I thinking? She's not going to die._

Tsubomi really was hoping for the best, but at the same time she wanted to prepare for the worst.

---

The pink-haired Spican must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, dawn was breaking over the horizon. The Osaka horizon, as Tsubomi could see from the window, were big bulky buildings, normally gray, but the pinkish sun cast a dusty rose hue over them.

With a drowsy sigh, Tsubomi stretched her stiff limbs. Almost the instant she moved a million little bones popped and cricked, sending sensations that were both painful and wonderful through her. A small price to pay for falling asleep in a chair.

Tsubomi got up from her chair (she had nothing she needed to do in a hospital, but she wanted to be in motion) when she noticed that one of the beds was now occupied. There lay a certain black-haired girl, her left leg in a cast, a neckbrace around her neck, and a hockey helmet on her head. There were bloodied bandages on her face and arms --- probably in other places concealed by her sea-green gown as well. A machine nearby was registering (as far as Tsubomi knew) a normal, healthy heartbeat.

"Yaya-chan…" the kouhai whispered.

Yaya didn't respond. She lay on her back, her eyes closed, her head tilted toward the right.

Being careful not to wake her, Tsubomi tiptoed over to the chair next to Yaya. She settled herself in, and linked her hand with her girlfriend's.

"I never really thought about it," Tsubomi said out loud to the sleeping Yaya, "but you're actually kind of cute when you're asleep." She frowned. "Even if your face is all bandaged up. But, what can I say, you do hospital patient well.

"Uh, anyways," she coughed, just glad that Yaya wasn't awake to hear all that, "Yaya-chan…I'm really, really sorry I slapped you. But I was trying to make amends, and you were being a bitch…"

Tsubomi snuffed deep in her throat, and tears began springing from her eyes. She hurriedly brushed them away.

"Oh, this is embarrassing. I don't cry very often…But it's just…I love you, and I want to be there for you no matter what. It's not going to be easy for me, though, if you keep letting your fear of vulnerability get in the way. I have my weak points, too…Sides of me that I wouldn't show anyone else, but…I would be happy to show you…"

With a sigh, Tsubomi leaned forward. She rested her head on the pillow, her face only inches from Yaya's. She reached out and lightly touched the senpai's lips with her fingertips. She hoped that was okay.

"You're so beautiful…"

Yaya's eyes snapped open and she growled in a Frankenstein voice, "I'M ALIVE!!!"

With a panicked shriek, Tsubomi threw herself back, the chair clattering noisily to the floor. The kouhai shakily clutched her heaving chest while Yaya howled with laughter.

"Oww," Yaya moaned, holding her chest. "It hurts to laugh…But the look on your face was worth it! Hah!"

Tsubomi glared ferociously and put her hands on her hips. "Yaya-senpai! You were awake this whole time!"

"I was trying to sleep," said Yaya, "but you made so much noise when you woke up."

"Well, I'm sorry!" the pinkette huffed.

Yaya grinned. "So…I'm cute when I'm asleep?"

Tsubomi's jaw dropped. Her face reddened and her hands shook. "You heard---You---Grrr! If---If you weren't all botched up, I'd slug you!"

"I've no doubt you would," the senpai sniffed. "That's just so unlike you to say. Have you been hanging out with Tamao-chan?"

"God, even in a hospital you can't be serious!" Tsubomi shook her head. "But did you hear the stuff _I _was being serious about?"

"Oh, you mean the stuff about you being vulnerable…I'm sure there are weaker sides of you. They're probably a laugh riot."

"Whatever! You dipshit!" Tsubomi turned away angrily and stormed over toward the window. "Clearly you don't want our relationship to go anywhere!"

"Oh, come on! I'm just trying to have a little fun! Look," Yaya said, sounding a bit more down to earth, "I want you to understand that…I've…never had someone like you in my life."

"Not even Hikari-senpai?"

"No! God, no. She and I were never this close. Probably if we were in a relationship, it would be a disaster. But you, Tsubomi, you bring out the best in me."

"Really?"

"Really. Before I met you, whenever things went badly, I always readily threw in the towel. But with you here, you're always egging me on and pulling me out of a slump. You hang in there, you never quit, and that's what I love the most about you," Yaya smiled.

Tsubomi turned to look at her girlfriend, her amber eyes swimming. "Yaya-chan…"

"You know what?" the senpai sighed. "Screw family. I'm tired of them constantly holding me back. If I want to make my dreams a reality, I've got to believe in myself. Just like you, Tsubomi. You were always here, believing in me. And I was stupid not to realize it sooner. Thank you, Tsubomi."

More tears stung Tsubomi's eyes. She let them fall this time. "I wish you'd tell me more about your family."

Yaya frowned and rubbed her chin. "I suppose eventually you'll have to meet them…Maybe over summer break…"

Tsubomi then felt her cell phone vibrate in her sweater pocket. She took it out and read the text message. "I've a feeling you'll meet mine sooner," said the kouhai. "My mom just texted me --- my family wants to visit me here."

"Hmm, Mr. and Mrs. Okuwaka, eh?" Yaya smirked. "I'm looking forward to it. I've been dying to find out where you got that feisty temper from."

* * *

The title of the chapter was based off the Neil Young song "Comes a Time." More often than not I tend to name chapters after songs.

NEXT CHAPTER: The girls prepare for the Drama Festival, and Yaya meets Tsubomi's family.


	10. French is the Language of Love

Here's chapter ten, ready for the public (long time, eh? lol) This chapter, as you could guess from the title, features Nagisa and Tamao speaking some French. Having taken Spanish, I have no idea how to speak it, but I went to WordReference . com to translate some stuff. So don't be surprised if there's some minor grammatical errors...

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Ten**

**French is the Language of Love**

"What do you want to do today, my friends? Go out?"

"Go out where? Go out to the discotheque?"

"No, to the restaurant. To the House of Butterfly!"

"Is it a pleasant restaurant?"

"It is not expensive, if that is what you mean."

"Very good. Let us proceed to the House of Butterfly!"

Nagisa nibbled the eraser on her pencil, struggling to answer the corresponding questions to the French listening activity. She wasn't the only one in the class who thought that the people on the tape spoke too quickly. Other girls had complained. The teacher responded by saying that native speakers talk a lot faster than the tape people.

Since it was a fairly novice course, the characters on tape steered clear of slang and controversy. Avoiding both the past and future, they embraced the moment with a stoicism common in recently recovered alcoholics. Fabienne, Carmen, and Eric frequently spent their time in cafes, enjoying Cokes without ice, and discussing their love of life and direct sunlight. Passing acquaintances were introduced at regular intervals, and it was often noted that the sky was blue.

During a brief break in which the teacher switched out the tapes and the students prepared for the next listening activity, Nagisa felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned in her seat to see Tamao holding out a note for her. The redhead heartily accepted it. Passing notes with Tamao was always fun. Nagisa frowned when she read it.

_Je veux ton darienne_

Nagisa's auburn eyebrows knitted together. She couldn't altogether understand the note. All she could decipher was that Tamao wanted something. Nagisa wrote in Japanese _What do you want? _and passed it to the poet.

It didn't take long for Tamao to reply. Within seconds, she was passing the note back to Nagisa. This one read: _Ton darienne, mon amour. _The redhead only caught the part at the end; Tamao was calling her "my love." Since Nagisa knew how to say "I love you" in French, she wrote that and passed it to her girlfriend.

Tamao's reply read: _Tu es très sympathique, mais veux ton darienne. _

Nagisa slammed the paper down on her desk in frustration. She could hear Tamao giggling. She turned toward the poet and whispered, "_What _do you _want??_"

Tamao just kept giggling. Her violet eyes sparkled and she held her pinky nail between her teeth.

"Just tell me!" the redhead pleaded.

Tamao winked, but said nothing.

_She's flirting with me, and I can't even understand her! _Nagisa's hands shook, and her cheeks pinkened. Out of desperation to translate Tamao's sweet nothings, the redhead flipped to the back of her French textbook, where there was a French to Japanese dictionary. "_Darienne_" was nowhere to be found.

"You're mean, Tamao-chan," Nagisa pouted.

"_Et tu es mignonne_," Tamao responded.

"Stop speaking French!"

"What's going on there?" The teacher was quickly coming to the back of the classroom. "Aoi-san? Suzumi-san? You know how I feel about talking in my classroom. Mm? What's this?" She swiped the paper off Nagisa's desk.

For once, the flirtatious confidence had left Tamao. The blush drained from her face. She did, in fact, blanch and her eyes widened.

_Crap, _thought the poet. _This is embarrassing._

The teacher, however, hardly raised an eyebrow. She set the note on Tamao's desk, saying, "Suzumi-san, your use of grammar is flawless. Any native speaker would be able to understand you. You even went out of your way to use words that aren't in the vocabulary list. _Excellent._

"Now you, Aoi-san," said she, turning toward Nagisa, "your French is atrocious. You probably meant to say 'I love you,' but 'love' is in the wrong form. So what you actually said was 'he or she loves you.' Ridiculous. Apply yourself!" And she walked off to play the next tape.

---

Tamao could hardly believe her luck. She had written Nagisa a very explicit note, and the teacher only scolded them about grammar. But then the poet figured the teacher was always busting girls for writing notes like that.

After French class, Tamao could no longer resist Nagisa. By the time they got back to their dorm, they were engaged in a tongue-wrestling match. For the record, Tamao was winning.

Once they had fallen back in bed, Nagisa broke off the kiss to ask, "What were you saying in those notes anyway?"

"I said I wanted some booty," Tamao responded smoothly, grabbing the object in question.

Nagisa bucked at the contact. "Jeez, Tamao-chan," she mumbled, a little smile showing on her young face. "Looks like you're going to get it…"

Nagisa's words were drowned in a full, wet kiss. She pulled Tamao closer. The feeling of the poet's body pressed against hers…Nothing felt more physically or emotionally right, and no other girl's kisses could make Nagisa feel this good.

The redhead turned them over so that she was straddling her girlfriend. Nagisa deepened the kiss, and tantalized Tamao's wrists with her fingertips. Nagisa knew how sensitive Tamao's hands and arms were, and the poet was responding. Tamao moaned and began to thrust against Nagisa, her entire being reaching for another touch.

The two lovers were brought back to the surface when a light rap was heard on their door.

"Nagisa-oneesama? Tamao-oneesama?" It was Remon.

Tamao sat up a little; Nagisa continued showering her neck and ears with kisses.

"W-we're kind of busy," called Tamao.

"Doing what?" Kizuna inquired teasingly.

The poet glared at the door. "Homework…French homework---oh, my God," she whispered, feeling Nagisa's hand slide between her legs. She rubbed against her girlfriend's hand, stifling groans. Once the silence from the door had stretched out long enough, they resumed their mattress session with a will, moaning and groaning to their hearts' contents.

A more forceful knock scared them apart.

"Stop having sex and get out here!" Kizuna ordered. "We have to discuss the Drama Festival!"

And a humiliating half hour later, Tamao and Nagisa were taking an alfresco lunch by the lake with Remon, Kizuna, and Hikari. Along with them came two Lulim fifth years, Suki and Hitomi.

Last year's high school play was based off _The Great Gatsby _by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Lulim worked crew and tech. Suki, an exuberant girl with pixie-short brown hair and hazel eyes, had worked hair and makeup. Hitomi, a more soft-spoken girl with long brown hair and blue eyes, had worked with props.

"So, what's this year's play?" asked Tamao, still a bit disgruntled. "In other words, what's the book I have to write a script for?"

"You are a magnificent scriptwriter," Kizuna nodded. "God only knows what we're gonna do after you graduate."

"You're stalling. What is the play?"

Kizuna bit her lip. "Remon-chan and I knew that our selection would stir up controversy. But we wanted to do a romantic play, and the middle schoolers did _Romeo and Juliet _two years ago. So…"

"What is the play?" Tamao asked for the third and final time.

Kizuna nodded at Remon, who held up a paperback book. The cover had a black background and featured a hoary pair of hands holding a red apple.

"_Twilight_?" Tamao forced a laugh. "You want me to write a script for _Twilight_?" She snorted. "Why don't I just rent that craptacular movie and take down the lines as they come?"

Remon frowned. "You don't like _Twilight_?"

"I don't like the hype people give it," the poet corrected. "It's a decent book, but it doesn't compare to _The Great Gatsby _or _Of Mice and Men. _But," she sighed, "I'm not really opposed to it becoming a play. I'll write a script for it."

"Yay!" Kizuna cheered, clapping her hands. "We have a great cast in mind!"

"Oh, boy," Tamao groaned.

"Now, Edward Cullen has been described as having messy reddish hair…"

Everyone turned to look at Nagisa.

Nagisa blinked. "Me? You want me to play Edward Cullen?"

Tamao chuckled into her palm. "No way. Nagisa-chan can't do seductive."

"Hey!" the redhead snapped. "Seductive was what I was doing to you before we were rudely interrupted!"

"Uh, anyway," Remon coughed. "To play Bella Swan…If Spica wasn't doing stagehand, I'd so give the part to Yaya-oneesama. She fits Bella's physical description: pale, with really dark hair…"

"But Yaya's a techie this year," said Kizuna, "so the part goes to Tamao-oneesama!"

Tamao wrinkled her nose. "Bella is one of the whiniest literary characters I've come across, running a very close second to Walter Younger in _A Raisin in the Sun_."

"But you'd get to kiss Nagisa-oneesama!" said Kizuna, who had never even heard of _A Raisin in the Sun._

"Like I need an excuse for that anymore…" Upon seeing Kizuna's hopeful expression, the poet sighed, "Okay…I'll do it…"

"Alright! A million thanks and a basket of kittens for you!"

And that was as far as Remon and Kizuna had decided for the cast for now.

* * *

NOTE: _Et tu es mignonne _means "And you're cute." And in that one reply, Tamao said, "You're sweet, but I still want your booty." Tamao was actually implying that she wanted sex, so probably _darienne _(the French word for rear end) isn't the right word. Oh, well.

NEXT CHAPTER: The Okuwaka family comes to visit Tsubomi. This will be funny...


	11. A Family's Like a Loaded Gun

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Eleven**

**A Family's Like a Loaded Gun**

"Would you stop pacing?" Yaya pleaded. "You were less nervous at your job interviews."

"I'm not nervous," said Tsubomi, absently pawing the curtains on the windows. "Like my family makes me nervous. I'm just restless. I've been in this cold, miserable hospital for two days now. It works against my best interests."

"I don't mind it," the brunette yawned. Then she winced. "What I don't like is this hockey helmet."

"Well, you have a concussion, so you have to wear it."

"And you have a broken nose, so you have to stay in the hospital."

"Hm. Touche."

Any fourteen-year-old would jump at the opportunity to take time off from school. But to Tsubomi, when the alternative is a hospital, Astraea Hill starts looking a lot more appealing. There was hot food at the Hill, wholesome activities, and it wasn't mainly populated by crazy old people suffering from dementia. What Tsubomi really hated was how cold Osaka Community Hospital was. Why were hospitals always cold? They'd make you sick if you weren't already.

(Ironically, Osaka Community Hospital's motto was: "For People Who Don't Like Hospitals.")

The only good thing about being stuck in this hospital was that she got to be with Yaya all the time. That was something she didn't have at Astraea Hill; kouhais and senpais weren't allowed to room together. Though Tsubomi never let Yaya know this (she'd probably laugh) the pink-haired girl often thought about living with her. It was easy for Tsubomi to picture Yaya lounging around on the couch while she cooked dinner.

"Do you want cole slaw with your meat loaf?" Tsubomi would ask.

Yaya blinked, and fingered the bandage on her forehead. "What?"

"Hm?"

"You, uh, just offered me cole slaw and meat loaf, Tsubomi-chan."

"Oh! Uh…" The pinkette blushed. There was no graceful way out of this other than to brush some lint off her sweater and change the subject.

"So, even though I'm basically on good terms with my family," said she, taking a seat next to Yaya's bed, "I want you to hold off on your perverted jokes."

Yaya feigned offense. "Is my Tsubomi-chan ashamed of me?"

Tsubomi shook her head. "No, it's not like that at all. It's just that, you know…" She itched an eyebrow. "My parents don't know we're together…and for the time being, I think it's best that we keep it that way."

The senpai nodded. Then she winced, for it hurt to nod. "I can respect that. I'll be polite --- I'll even be charming."

Tsubomi sighed and smiled. "Great. Thanks." She took Yaya's hand and caressed it. It had been such a long time since they last hugged or kissed, and at this point, Tsubomi's body was screaming for any sort of physical contact. "Do your parents know about us?"

Yaya almost nodded, then stopped to save herself some pain. "Yeah, they know. Which is why you've got to meet them: to convince them that Okuwaka Tsubomi is not someone I made up to show them I'm over Hikari-chan."

"So, uh…" The kouhai scraped her throat. "Are they…okay with us?"

"My mom, for sure. Not too certain about my dad…" Now it was Yaya's turn to change the subject. "If you won't let me be perverted when your family gets here, I have to get it out of my system." Before Tsubomi could ask what she meant by that, Yaya trumpeted, "YOUR DAUGHTER IS HOT!!!"

"Yaya-senpai!" Tsubomi anxiously looked at the door, which was propped open.

"SHE GIVES ME LADY-WOOD!!!"

"Shut up! They could be right down the hall!"

"SHE GETS ME OFF SO---_Mmph!_" Yaya grunted as Tsubomi deftly clapped a hand over her mouth.

The pinkette leaned in and hissed through clenched teeth, "You're only kidding yourself, _baka. _If you don't shut your trap, I'll hold this pillow over your face until you stop struggling!"

Yaya smirked once Tsubomi took her hand off her mouth. "You wouldn't kill a patient, would you, Izzy?"

Tsubomi scowled. "You did not just make a 'Grey's Anatomy' reference…?"

"Oh, I _so _went there…"

"Hiya!"

Tsubomi jumped. She would recognize that greeting anywhere. She hurriedly rose from her chair, smoothed her skirt, and smiled.

"Hello, Mother."

"Oh, hello dear!" Yaya watched as Mrs. Okuwaka, a tall medium-proportioned woman with white hair and blue eyes, embraced Tsubomi. The older woman stroked her daughter's fuchsia locks. "We're so glad you're okay."

"Yep. Heh. All in one piece." Tsubomi sounded genuinely happy to see her mom, but her smile was so strained and tight it looked like her face would crack.

"I heard some crazy lady screaming down the hall." In popped Mr. Okuwaka. He was tall and a bit chubby. At first glance his hair appeared to be red, but, Yaya noticed, it was actually dark pink. Mr. Okuwaka looked like Perez Hilton, when he had pink hair. "She said something like 'your daughter is sexy,' or whatever."

Tsubomi's smile tightened, and she tried to laugh. "Um, yeah. I dunno. Must've been one of the geriatrics having a psychotic break. Heheheh."

She caught Yaya grinning and shot her a glare that would've made birds fall dead from trees.

Mrs. Okuwaka also took note of the raven-haired girl laying in the bed. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, uh, this is Yaya-chan."

Her father harrumphed, and shook his head disapprovingly. "Tsubomi. Mind your manners. You know better than to address people so informally."

"…Yaya-senpai," the pinkette corrected.

"Sheesh," Mr. Okuwaka cringed, his butterscotch eyes flashing. "You address your senpais with such rude honorifics? What kind of an impertinent brat have I been raising?"

"Uh, Okuwaka-san --- er, sama." Yaya thought that if she wanted to get in her girlfriend's parents' good graces, she'd have to be as respectful as possible. "Tsubomi-chan and I are really good friends. I don't mind if she addresses me so informally. Our age gap hardly matters to me. Heh, as my friend Hikari-chan used to say, 'Age is only a number.'" She could feel herself glaring at Mr. Okuwaka, who was looking at her in such a way that said, '_And I should give you the time of day, why…?_'

_Besides, _Yaya continued inwardly, _no one calls her "brat" but me._

"In fact," said Yaya, "I was the one who pushed Tsubomi-chan out of the way of that truck."

No sooner had the words left Yaya's mouth than Mrs. Okuwaka was at her bedside. The blanc-haired woman kneeled, the brunette's left hand enclosed in both her own, her head bowed so low that her chin touched her chest.

"We appreciate what you've done!" Waterfall tears were streaming down Mrs. Okuwaka's face. "I don't know how I can make you fully understand just how much Tsubomi means to us! She's our pride and joy! She really sets a fine example for Akiko!"

"My sister," Tsubomi explained. Then she gave her father a quizzical look. "Where IS Akiko?"

"Serving a detention." Mr. Okuwaka seemed to stand a bit taller. "That girl done disappointed us again."

"But never Tsubomi!" Mrs. Okuwaka cried. "She never fails to meet or exceed our standards. Oh, thank God you saved her!" Every word of that last sentence was punctuated by a shake of Yaya's hand.

Yaya looked at Tsubomi. The kouhai was bashfully kicking at the floor, her eyes averted. This whole spectacle was making Yaya a little ill. She had an aunt and uncle like Mr. and Mrs. Okuwaka. They had one child, and at family events they always had to shove his successes down everyone's throats. Now he was a wimpy layabout, twenty-eight years old, and he lived in his mom's basement.

Yaya scowled at her girlfriend. _Oh my God, you ARE a brat._

Yaya's anger simmered a bit throughout the visit. It came to a head after a doctor had to practically drag Mr. and Mrs. Okuwaka out of the room because visiting hours had ended.

"You really are the golden girl of your kin."

Tsubomi detected the resentment in Yaya's voice, and her tone turned defensive. "Well, I'm the oldest. I sort of set the standard for Akiko."

Yaya shook her head. "I really feel sorry for Akiko. She's never going to succeed if she has to live in your shadow."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence there, Yaya-senpai, but you've never even met her."

"I don't have to. I already know that she's like me --- a disappointment…a reject."

Tsubomi sighed. They never brought up the issue of Yaya's esteem in the Nanto family. It was like a mine field. The pinkette tried her best to tread carefully.

"Look…I know how you feel about your family…But mine's not the same. No two families are alike." Tsubomi had always thought of families as dysfunctional snowflakes. "I imagine it must suck for you to always be compared to an older sibling --- but it sucks for me, too. If you're the oldest, you've got to constantly be on the ball. One little slip-up, and it's your head! Would you like that?"

Fierce anger was burning within Tsubomi. Yaya was a great girl, but she could be really short-sighted sometimes. The kouhai wished Yaya would be a little less selfish.

_Selfish. Yeah, right. She pushed you away from a truck, and YOU'RE calling HER selfish?_

"I'm sorry." Tsubomi lowered her voice. "I've just been kind of tense lately." She wrung her hands and paced about. "It must be this goddamn hospital…"

"It's okay. I know what you mean. I can't wait to get out of this hellhole either." Yaya smiled a little. "You're lucky; you get to leave before I do."

"Yeah…" The pinkette suddenly realized that Yaya would be here for a pretty long time. At least long enough for her wounds to heal. The senpai had actually gotten stitches. Tsubomi hadn't; the kouhai was predicting a discharge within a day or two.

Now Yaya's smile showed up full, though a little lopsided. Her brown eyes burned warmly. "Sit down with me, Tsubomi-chan. Relax. Watching you pace around like that makes me nervous."

Tsubomi complied, but kicked her legs a little. She was not the sort of person to sit still when things needed doing. _But then, what needs to be done?_

"Tsubomi-chan…" For some reason, Yaya's voice had lowered to a whisper. "How long has it been since we last kissed?"

"Two weeks on Wednesday."

"Well, I have a theory…" Yaya smiled seductively, and tapped her chin. "How uptight do you think we'd be after a makeout session?"

"Yaya-senpai! It's a hospital!"

"Hospital sex is hot," Yaya justified. "Let's fuck the pain away."

Tsubomi frowned. _Isn't it Kizuna-chan's job to make references to pop songs?_

"I'm not having sex in a hospital."

"Okay. Just kiss me, then."

The kouhai then became aware of how badly she needed to kiss Yaya. Had she always felt this way? Why would she pass up an opportunity like this? But she was hell-bent against having Yaya get her way. So she said, "Just one kiss," and leaned in to give Yaya a chaste peck on the lips.

Yaya hooked her arms around Tsubomi's neck and yanked her in for a wildly aggressive kiss. Her cheek pressed hard against Tsubomi's nose, mixing the pleasure the pinkette felt with a trace of pain. When they pulled back, Tsubomi had to admit she did feel a bit more relaxed.

_Goddamn it, she's persuasive, _thought Tsubomi as she indulged herself in a bit more kissing.

* * *

When Yaya said "Let's fuck the pain away," it was a reference to "Fuck the Pain Away" by Peaches.

The chapter title is a reference to a lyric in "I Could Be Dreaming" by Belle & Sebastian.

Tsubomi's parents turned out crazier than I'd planned, honestly.

NEXT CHAPTER: Tsubomi and Hikari go to work, and Astraea Hill receives assistance for the Drama Festival from unexpected places.


	12. Reunions

Alrighty. It took some time, but I've finally got chapter twelve written to my liking. I personally love how this chapter plays out, as I get to relay some memories from when I held a job at an indoor amusement park called Jungle Jim. I also get to poke fun at the people who love and hate Twilight, nothing really meant by it of course, this is all done for the sake of humor. Enjoy!

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Reunion**

The next day, Tsubomi got her wish. She was released from Osaka Community Hospital. She promised Yaya that she would visit her, and then returned to Astraea Hill to recuperate in more familiar surroundings. Her break didn't last long. Soon enough she had to attend her classes and on Saturday, she and Hikari went to Taro's World for more employee training.

Interpreters for the deaf came to Taro's World that night, and taught the mice how to say, "HELLO, THERE! I AM TARO-SAMA'S HELPER!" in sign language. The mice were instructed to use bold voices and bright facial expressions when saying stuff such as, "YOU ARE A VERY PRETTY BOY/GIRL! I LOVE YOU! DO YOU WANT A SURPRISE?"

Hikari had a deaf great-uncle, and so she actually knew quite a bit of sign language. At Tsubomi's request later that night, she taught the pinkette to say, "TARO-SAMA HAS A TUMOR IN HIS HEAD THE SIZE OF A PLUM. IT MIGHT GO AWAY TOMORROW, BUT I DON'T THINK SO."

For a week out of each month, Taro's World hosted "Operation Special Children." During this week sick and deformed children come to receive gifts and visit with Taro, as customers do in Taro's World. In "Operation Special Children" it is a mouse's duty to cheerfully greet the child, then jog back to the throne to brace Taro.

"The next one is missing an ear" or "Mari's got third-degree burns on most of her body."

_Missing an ear, _thought Tsubomi. _Taro-sama better be careful when he asks what kind of present he can give that child._

The chief of security also came in to lecture the mice. Taro's World apparently suffered billions of yen of employee theft each year. As a result, every mouse was treated like a felon with a criminal background. Before clocking out at the end of a shift, they were to have their bags searched.

There followed a video presentation. The chief of security said that the people being interviewed in the video were real former employees of Taro's World. But Tsubomi could tell that they were actors made to portray former employees. They hung their heads shamefully, and ruefully recalled that horrid day when they had ever thought to steal that manga.

"I had big dreams of studying law at the University of Tokyo," said a thin little man on the screen. "But that one incident --- just ONE little incident --- where I stole that stuffed mouse has left a permanent mark on my immaculate record. There's no way I'm getting into U of T now. Nope, no way…" He buried his face in his hands. "Oh, man…Not after that. No way…"

A lonely girl sat at a table in a café on the screen. She quietly considered her latte before sighing, "After work, I used to go out on the town with my co-workers. God, those were good times. I loved those people…" She spaced out a moment before saying, "Well, needless to say, they're not calling me anymore." The common theme of these interviews was that petty theft in Taro's World had destroyed their jobs, friendships, and ultimately, their futures.

Taro's World had two jail cells on the basement floor which could hold ten people at most. The mice were told to keep a lookout for pick-pockets in Taro's World.

Finally came the tour of the indoor amusement park, which was really something, Tsubomi had to admit. You enter Taro's World, buy your ticket, get your hand stamped, and you receive some tokens to play the games or exchange for prizes. Taro's World was one enormous room with a vaulted ceiling, poorly lit by fluorescent bulbs. The walls were dull gray in color, decorated with paintings of tussocks and flowers, such that could be found in the perilous yet beautiful fictional country. There were two roller coasters, but since it was indoors, they didn't go very high or have many twists and turns. The kind of roller coaster for kids who hate roller coasters. There were all sorts of games, including pinball, whack a mouse (yes, reminiscent of whack a mole), racing games, and DDR.

Walking through Taro's World, Tsubomi and Hikari passed all sorts of props. Among them was the Magic Tree, a complex system of roots that reminded the kouhai of a scale model of the human intestinal tract. There was also a giant frozen lake on which skated robotic mice. They frolicked about mechanically, permanent grins painted on their titanium faces. The cherry on top of the experience is when you get to meet Taro, who is played by a different male employee on any given day. One could talk to him and get a photo taken with him. Immediately after that, you wait in a long line to order your photo.

Tsubomi and Hikari were taught various code names for different posts. There was the Vomit Corner, a little section by the pinball machine where nauseous children tended to surrender the contents of their stomachs. If a child threw up the nearest mouse had to yell, "VAMOOSE," which is the name of the product used to clean up vomit. There was also the "Oh my God" Corner. This was where a visitor would finish his time with Taro, encounter a long line to the register to buy his photo, and he would tend to groan, "Oh, my God." Nervous breakdowns abound; at that point it is a mouse's duty to console the customer and explain that the wait should be no more than one hour.

There were various positions one could be assigned to on any given workday, including Entrance Mouse, Counter Mouse, Magic Tree Mouse, Photo Mouse, Usher Mouse, Water Cooler Mouse, Emergency Exit Mouse, Token Mouse, Cash Register Mouse, Exit Mouse, to name a few. The employees were given demonstrations of the positions by returning mice who were so relentlessly cheerful that it embarrassed Tsubomi to walk by them. As a mouse, it was her lot to remain merry in the face of adversary, but the kouhai couldn't see herself doing that. Tsubomi couldn't picture herself gamboling about and cheering, "Oh, my goodness! I think I see Taro-sama!" or "Can you close your eyes and make a very special Taro's World wish!" Every sentence had an exclamation point at the end of it!!! It would hurt Tsubomi's mouth to speak that forcefully. She knew she wouldn't be able to provide the grinding enthusiasm they were looking for at Taro's World. She would be a low-key sort of a mouse.

---

Word of Kizuna and Remon's high school play selection got out, and it had Astraea Hill in a fervor. Those who were fans of _Twilight _rejoiced. Those who hated the book and/or the fans staged angry protests throughout the campus. The middle schoolers cried foul, wishing they could perform a _Twilight_-based play. It was the biggest controversy in the history of Astraea Hill. The Sisters had their hands full, dealing punishments to the anti-_Twilight _or pro-_Twilight _patriots who had crossed the line.

Kizuna, the thrill-seeker, was delighted by what she and Remon had set in motion. Remon, on the other hand, was burdened with stress.

"Maybe we made a mistake," the premier sighed, staring at the cover of her book. "Maybe Tamao-oneesama was right --- _Twilight _doesn't compare to any other book. Maybe we should've done something more tasteful…_The Lord of the Rings _or something…"

Kizuna shook her head. "No good. The play would be, like, two million hours long." She paused. "And I don't think there's any high schooler short enough to play a hobbit or a dwarf."

Among the middle schoolers who were envious of the upperclassmen's play selection was Tsubomi, who was put up to decide the underclassmen's play.

"Do I detect some jealousy?" Tamao smirked after listening to the pinkette's furious rants. "Some _Twilight _fangirlism, perhaps?"

"Ugh. No." Tsubomi wore her signature scowl, but a pink blush dashed her cheeks. "I'm just having a hard time picking a play."

Meanwhile, for Tamao, writing a script for a _Twilight _play was proving to be more difficult than she initially thought. Though the poet hated Stephenie Meyer's writing style (it was something like that of an angsty pre-teen, she thought), it seemed her style did the plot of _Twilight _more justice than Tamao's gentle yet boisterous writing style.

---

By checking off the days on her calendar, Nagisa realized that hers and Tamao's one-year anniversary was coming up. For a gift, the redhead had considered buying her girlfriend a book. But while shopping online using Tsubomi's laptop, Nagisa wasn't sure what book to get the poet. Her first pick had been _Ivanhoe, _but what if Tamao had a copy of that already? Okay, how about a copy of _The Catcher in the Rye_? Same problem. _The Island of Dr. Moreau_? Same problem.

What do you get for the girl who's read everything?

---

A surprise came to Astraea Hill one day in June. Or rather, it should be said, seven surprises.

It was Sunday, June 15th. With Mass just finished, most of the students were having their lunches outside. Cherry blossoms drifted down on the courtyard like fragrant pink snow. The stone benches were occupied by groups of friends taking lunch, playing games, and generally enjoying themselves. The orchestra hall entrance door was propped open, and the sweet melody of a movement from Händel's _The Messiah _drifted out into the warm, carefree summer air.

Their shoes hitting the cobblestones lightly (though the poet's gait was a bit more heavy on the heel), Tamao and Nagisa made their way back to Strawberry Dorms.

"It's such a beautiful day," Nagisa sighed, taking Tamao's hand. "We should have lunch outside, too."

"We should," the poet agreed breezily. She halted. "Tell you what. If you would go wait by the lake, I'll run back and throw something together." She gestured toward the dorms.

Nagisa smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

"Great. Then I'll see you in fifteen."

The two of them kissed before going their separate ways. Nagisa walked at a slow pace, her head still spinning from the kiss. Sitting down in the soft grass by the lake, the redhead was thinking that Tamao really did have everything going for her, girlfriend-wise. She was smart, cute, sentimental, funny at times, and --- gosh darn it --- the girl could kiss!

Nagisa sighed and tipped her head back, letting the sun warm her face. There was hardly a breeze to stir the water in the lake, which therefore took on the appearance of a smooth blue plate. The scents of honeysuckle and daffodil wafted through the field. A lark was singing its usual summer tune. It was a great day for a girl to be in love.

The redhead was so preoccupied with thoughts of Tamao and of summer that she failed to hear the advancing voices until they were directly behind her.

"The cathedral always held the most prominent memories in my head. All those Étoile selections…"

"Ah, the lake. Who could forget the lake?"

Nagisa's ears perked. She recognized those voices. But to be sure that she wasn't just hearing things, she twisted around to get a view of the girls whom the voices belonged to. And she wasn't hearing things. Crying out joyously, she jumped up.

One of the girls, a tall young woman with long black hair, reacted first. She grinned, "And who could forget that redhead? Hello, Nagisa-chan!"

"Chikaru-san!" Nagisa ran up to embrace the Lulim President, and shake hands with the others. They were all there: Chikaru, Shion, Kaname, Momomi, Amane, Setsuko, and Miyuki. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're done with our summer semester finals," responded Setsuko, who was the old Miator President succeeding Miyuki. "And we thought we'd come here for a reunion."

"And to repay old 'kindnesses,'" Shion smirked.

Nagisa sweat-dropped, a bit put off by the former Spica President's tone. "W-what does that mean?"

"It means Shion-chan wants to play a prank on Sister Hamasaka," Chikaru explained.

"A prank?" The redhead blinked. "I can't see Shion-san doing that!"

Shion shrugged. "Oh, what the hell. I've graduated."

A loud _THUMP! _was heard behind them. When they turned around, they saw Tamao. The picnic basket had fallen from her hands and her amethyst eyes were wide with shock.

"I don't believe it…" the poet whispered. Then she ran up to meet the Astraea Hill graduates. More cheerful greetings abounded.

"Setsuko-chan!" Tamao exclaimed, hugging her old friend. "You haven't changed a hair!"

"No, I haven't," Setsuko agreed, pulling back to look at Tamao. She readjusted the glasses on her nose. "You, however, have changed several. What happened to your bun?"

Tamao frowned. "So no one likes this look?" She sighed, then pulled the hairtie out, letting her cerulean hair cascade down to her waist. "Fine, then. I'll go back to the bun.

"It's so good to have you back, Amane-sama," the poet smiled at the former Étoile. "Hikari-chan's missed you like crazy."

"_Hai. _I've missed her, too." Amane's ruby eyes swam. "But I wrote to her, telling her that I'd be back either during the Drama Festival or the beach trip."

"Better to come back sooner than later."

"Yeah. Well…" Amane casually stretched her arms. "I returned to my apartment in Kyoto one day to find a message on my answering machine from Shion-kun about…"

"Great story, Amane-kun," Kaname grunted sarcastically.

The two tomboys laughed and threw some playful punches.

"Weird to see them getting along like that," Nagisa remarked.

Miyuki smiled. "Well, after you graduate, you sort of forgive and forget all that high school drama." She frowned. "Of course, Shizuma is an exception, but…"

Miyuki stiffened, regretting even mentioning her silver-haired friend. Nagisa's expression was troubled. Tamao's was one of indifference, but it appeared so the poet was forcing the emotion.

---

Everyone was so preoccupied with the reunion (among other things), that they failed to notice Amane stealing off to Strawberry Dorms. The turquoise-haired girl could move fast on a horse, yes, but she could run like the wind, too. Within minutes, she was leaning tiredly against the door, trying to catch her breath.

Once she could breathe more easily, Amane darted inside. If Hikari was rooming with Yaya again, she would probably be on the third floor. Amane raced up the stairs. _I'm getting some serious cardio done, _she thought. _My caloric needs will be off the charts today._

Again, she had to catch her breath before lightly knocking on the door.

"Who is it?"

Hikari's voice. Amane sucked in her breath. The way the blonde girl spoke sometimes sounded like music.

"I-it's me," Amane stuttered.

She heard some klutzy clunking on the other side of the door, the sound of nervous hands fumbling the knob, and the door was thrown open. Hikari stood there, wide-eyed, her hands clasped anxiously as if in prayer.

"Amane-senpai," she breathed, leaning against the doorway in disbelief.

Amane smiled. Did Hikari get cuter or had they just been apart for too long? She leaned forward and lightly brushed some golden wavy locks out of Hikari's face, letting her fingertips linger on her cheek. Soft and smooth as a baby.

The contact sent flutters through Hikari's internal organs. "Am I only dreaming?"

"If you were, what would you do?"

Hikari's breath snagged in her throat. She leaned in so she could rest her head on Amane's, their lips only inches apart.

"I'd just take you," she whispered.

Amane hooked her arm around Hikari's waist and brought her in closer. "Or better yet, let ME take YOU."

Hikari whimpered as Amane gently pushed her inside, kicking the door shut behind them. There was no space between their lips now, and they kissed with such passion. Up until now Hikari never realized how badly she'd needed to kiss Amane. It unlocked her libido, and she made her kisses more aggressive. That afternoon, in a humid and poorly lit dorm, they had both gotten what they needed the most.

---

That evening Remon announced the roles to be played in the high school play over dinner.

"As you've heard," said she, "this year's performance will be based on the American novel _Twilight_."

Her announcement was met with cheers and protests. Then arguments broke out all across the dining hall. Some were even beginning to escalate to violence.

Kizuna pounded the table. "Hey! Shut up!"

And they did.

Remon cleared her throat. "According to Astraea Hill's Drama Festival customs, this year Miator and Lulim will be acting, and Spica will work stagehand."

"See? I told you!" Momomi hissed at Kaname. "You thought it was Miator's turn! But now look at what we've come back here for!"

Nagisa grinned. _Hah! I can't wait to throw brooms and bottles of iced tea at them!_

Remon then announced the main roles.

"To play Bella Swan, the transfer student…Our scriptwriter and Miator's secretary, Suzumi Tamao!"

Students applauded. Setsuko, who was not a fan of the book, turned to Tamao and inquired, "How in the world did you get roped into this one?"

"I'm a sucker for Kizuna's best-little-girl-in-the-world face," the poet responded wryly, swirling the water around in her glass.

"To play Edward Cullen, the vegetarian vampire who bewilders and eventually falls in love with Bella…Aoi Nagisa!"

"And a darn good vegetarian I'll be at that!" the redhead nodded.

Suki stared quizzically at Nagisa. "Hmm…We're gonna have to do something about those eyes…Edward has golden eyes, like mine, not like those blood-red peepers of yours."

"To play Charlie, Bella's father…Minamoto Chikaru!"

Chikaru got maybe the loudest and longest applause.

"To play Jake, a childhood friend who has a thing for Bella…Ewata Setsuko!"

"Isn't he a werewolf?" Setsuko muttered, embarrassed by the applause.

"To play Billy, Jake's father…Haruna Miyuki!"

"Haruna?" Nagisa asked. "I thought your name was Roukoujo!"

"Was," Miyuki sighed, holding up her right hand. On her hand was a white gold ring with a sapphire gemstone. "But, I'm married."

"Is your husband nice?" Tamao asked.

"Yes. I like him." But Miyuki's expression aroused suspicion and concern in the poet.

"Now." A smile pulled at the corners of Remon's mouth. "You'll want to know which couple the Étoile are playing."

The whole room fell silent as the students tried to picture Remon and Kizuna as various pairings in _Twilight. _Alice and Jasper? Jessica and Mike? Victoria and James?

"I, Natsume Remon, will play Rosalie…" Already the entire dining room was roaring with laughter. "…and Hyuuga Kizuna, the Étoile cadette and my beloved girlfriend, will play Emmett."

"Break out the pillows and muscular body suits!" Kizuna cheered. Students couldn't stop laughing. It was harder to decide which was funnier: polite Remon playing a grade-A bitch or playful little Kizuna playing an intimidating big (but friendly) guy.

Once the laughter had died down, Remon went on to announce the last two major roles. "To play Jasper, one of Edward's brothers…Harasaka Hitomi!"

The blue-haired Lulim girl blinked owlishly behind her glasses. "Erm…I never really read _Twilight_," she practically whispered. "What does my role entail?"

"Well, if you watched the movie," her best friend and girlfriend Suki sighed, "you get to look creepy and stare wide-eyed at nothing in particular and stay glued to Alice's side."

"Umm…I guess I could do that…"

"To play Alice, Edward's helpful and cheerful sister…Yamoto Katsuki!"

Suki pulled a victory fist. Alice was supposed to be cute and pixie-ish, and that was something she could definitely do. Suki did look like Alice --- short, skinny, playful, fun, and she had the same hair as her.

---

After dinner, Nagisa immediately excused herself and darted upstairs. This confused Tamao, and by the time she got to their room, she was totally convinced that Nagisa was upset about something. _She seemed just fine at dinner. _Tamao was certain her fears were being confirmed when she entered the empty dorm room.

"She's gone…?"

"VAAAAA!!!"

Tamao shrieked as she was glomped onto from behind. Then she laughed once she realized that it was only Nagisa. The poet was practically crying, that's how hard she was laughing, as she took in what her girlfriend was wearing. Nagisa was garbed in a tattered red and black velvet cape, and had fake plastic fangs in her mouth.

"Come here, my pretty maid," Nagisa hissed gently in Tamao's ear. "I vant to drink your blood!" The poet giggled as she felt the faux fangs graze her neck.

"There," nodded Nagisa, releasing Tamao. "Do you think I can do seductive _now?_"

"Uhh, wow Nagisa-chan. You look…" The poet shook her head. "Um…Count Dracula much?"

"Hm. Probably not very Edward Cullen, eh?"

"Not really. But then again, this kind of vampire could be sexy, too. You know how lesbians love to play vampire."

"They do?" Nagisa blinked. Then she got the mental picture of Tamao gushing blood; frankly, it was a turn-off to her.

"Yep. But it's not that time of the month for me. How 'bout you?"

Suddenly the meaning of "play vampire" hit Nagisa like a tire iron. The redhead seemed to dry heave a little before excusing herself to run to the bathroom.

* * *

NEXT CHAPTER: Tsubomi, Hikari, and Yaya go to work. Preparations and rehearsals for the Drama Festival.


	13. Of Mice and Pranks

More silliness in this chapter. Tsubomi chooses the middle school play, and, I have to say, it's one terrific selection. Betwen that and Twilight, the Drama Festival is sure to be a smash hit. Still, I had some trouble breaking up scenes without making it all jumbled and crazy. Hope you like it!

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Of Mice and Pranks**

"Ah! Look who's back!" Tamao cheered as Yaya hobbled in on crutches, followed by a stricken Tsubomi. "They finally let you out of the slammer, huh?"

Chiyo and Kagome looked up from their teacups and glared at Tsubomi.

"Yeah," Yaya sighed, propping her crutches against the wall and seating herself on Nagisa's bed. "I kinda know what you mean now, Tsubomi-chan. By the time they finally let me out of there, I _hated _Osaka Community Hospital."

Kizuna uncapped a blue Sharpie and began to decorate Yaya's cast.

The brunette shook her head and continued to complain bitterly. "You know that I just got out back, just now? First, they intended to let me out at 1000 hours this morning. Then they decided to remove the bandages on my arms and face, and give the wounds one last cleaning. It hurt like a motherfucker, and it took such a long time." She rolled her eyes.

"So then my new release time was 1430 hours. But then they wanted to give me a CAT scan. Fortunately, it meant I no longer have to wear that goddamn hockey helmet, or the neckbrace, but still…

"So, finally, my release time was 2200 hours. Exactly twelve hours later than the original release plan." Yaya huffed. "I was beginning to think I'd _never _get out of there."

The brunette was quiet a moment, possibly imagining what her life spent in that hospital would be like. Then, suddenly, she brightened and inquired, "So what went down here while I was gone?"

"You've missed a bit of employee training," Hikari responded. "But you're back just in time for the dress rehearsal of a day in Taro's World. Tsubomi-chan and I will help you."

"Will she be okay in that cast?" Tsubomi asked.

The blonde wordlessly considered Yaya's leg cast, which now featured a beautifully drawn dragon.

Hikari blinked. "Some positions are out…like Runner Mouse, for instance…But Yaya-chan could easily do Cash Register Mouse, or something…"

"Or something," the kouhai echoed wearily, massaging her temples.

"So, uh, what's the word on the Drama Festival?" Yaya's innocent question was met with a horrifically pained groan from Tsubomi. Chiyo and Kagome were leering at her.

Nagisa jumped up. "I'm playing Edward Cullen in _Twilight_!" She was practically dancing with excitement.

Yaya smiled. "I liked that book. Hated the movie, though. All the cute little things Bella and Edward said to each other in the book just came off as creepy in the movie…" Her smile faded, and she turned to her girlfriend, who had her face buried in her hands. "And what's eating _you, _Moany McGroany?...Oh dear, it must be serious if I'm using that nickname outside the bedroom…"

Tsubomi's glare silenced her.

"Yeah, Tsubomi-chan. Tell her what's wrong." Chiyo scowled, and crossed her arms. "Tell her about that yaoi abomination you chose for the middle school play."

"It's not yaoi!" Tsubomi snapped.

Normally the pinkette's glare would intimidate Chiyo. But the librarian was too enraged to back down. "What is it, then, if not yaoi?" Her mouth puckered into a scowl, and she raised an eyebrow.

"It's…it's love. It's beautiful, pure love that just happens to be between two men."

"Yaoi," Chiyo coughed.

"What _is _the middle school play?" Tamao asked. Nearby, on the poet's bed, Remon raised her head from the _Twilight _script. Everyone was interested.

"_Brokeback Mountain,_" Kagome spat.

Yaya and Kizuna exploded into a fit of raucous laughter.

"Really, I don't mind the play selection," Kagome sighed. "I just don't care for the role I was assigned."

Now Yaya and Kizuna roared.

"I have to play JACK TWIST!" Chiyo waved her hands in mock cheer and sang her character's name.

"And I'm Ennis Del Mar." Kagome announced her role in a harsh Wyoming drawl, giving the word "del" two syllables.

By now everyone present was laughing, save for Tsubomi. Nagisa leaned her head on Tamao's shuddering shoulders, the two of them racked with giggles. Remon removed her glasses to wipe away laughing tears. Hikari was laughing so hard that she had run short of breath and had begun to hiccup.

"Oh, come on, Tsubomi-chan!" Yaya chuckled, throwing an arm about the kouhai's shoulders. "Have a sense of humor!"

"I thought it was a fairly good play selection," Tsubomi pouted. "Excuse me all to pieces that it's not _Twilight_."

"At least it's not a musical. _Brokeback Mountain: The Musical._" Everyone laughed --- even Tsubomi cracked a smile --- when Yaya sang in her strong alto voice, "_I wiiiiissssh…I knew hoooowwww…to quiiiit yooooooooooouuuuuuu._"

Yaya bowed as deeply as her cast would permit amid laughter and applause.

Kizuna sat up suddenly, her brown eyes bright and shiny. "Oh! Yaya-oneesama! Yaya-oneesama! Guess who's back?"

The brunette turned her eyes toward the ceiling, as if expecting to find the person she had to guess right there. She tapped her chin, and hummed a little bit. Then her eyes snapped open wide in realization and she groaned in exasperation. "Good God, I thought Setsuko-san and Shion-san got rid of that bitch."

"They're not talking about Shizuma, you retard," Tsubomi frowned. "They're talking about the other graduates. Shion-san, Kaname-san, Momomi-san."

"Amane-senpai," Hikari sighed.

"Miyuki-san," Nagisa smiled.

"Setsuko-san, too," Tamao added.

"And Chikaru-oneesama!" Remon cheered. "I've missed her."

"Me, too," Kizuna agreed. "It's just not Astraea Hill without its resident Miss Awesome!"

"Chikaru-san, Miyuki-san, and Setsuko-chan were given parts in the high school play," Tamao explained.

Kagome smiled. "Chikaru-oneesama has a lot to offer for the play. Setsuko-oneesama, too. Do you remember _Noah's Ark_?" she asked the poet.

Kagome was referring all the way back to St. Olaf Primary in Saitima. When she was a primary school first year, Tamao a fourth year, and Setsuko a fifth year, they had been in a school play about Noah's Ark. Tamao had played Noah's wife, Kagome played a yak, and Setsuko was a woodchuck.

Yaya sighed heavily and reared up on her crutches. "Well, guys, I'd love to stay here and gossip, but it's been a long day. I'd just like to sleep in my own bed now."

"We understand," Tamao nodded. "Good night, Yaya-chan."

Everyone bade the brunette _bonne nuit. _Tsubomi left with Yaya; she had taken it upon herself to accompany her girlfriend everywhere, and she was also tired. The two of them departed, closing the door after themselves.

---

That same night found two certain Astraea Hill graduates padding lightly through the hallways of Strawberry Dorms. There was a new moon out, so there wasn't very much light. It was a fairly humid night, and the moist air was alive with the sound of cicada music.

Due to lack of light, Chikaru and Shion had to stick close to the wall and grope about. This had elicited some funny incidents, including the moment Chikaru's hand accidentally grazed something soft and Shion told her to stop getting fresh with her. The two of them had been dating for six years, but like Tsubomi to Yaya, Shion preferred it that she and Chikaru physically expressed their love behind closed doors.

Shion carried under her arm a small box, which had aroused her girlfriend's curiosity.

"What's in that box, anyway?" Chikaru whispered, lightly tapping the object in question. "Are you planning to put a dead rat in Sister Hamasaka's desk, or something?"

"No. Like I would touch a dead rat." Shion shuddered. Then she grinned. "Trust me, this will be a million times better than a dead rat."

Chikaru pawed about until her hand linked with Shion's. "Well, I know you got in a bit of trouble in middle school, but I never thought you'd want revenge."

Shion huffed. "Sister Hamasaka is such a…uh, you know," she stammered. "A base, vulgar word for vagina, implying a snobby woman." The former Spica President had always been a bit reserved when it came to swearing. "She would punish you just for flaring your nostrils when you inhale!"

Chikaru giggled. Shion was in rare form tonight. If what Miyuki had said about letting go of high school stress was true, it applied to Shion, who was a lot more laid-back since she had graduated.

Chikaru had gotten in a bit of trouble herself as a kouhai, most of the time with Shion. More often than not, however, their situations involved being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But tonight Shion had a back up plan to prevent this.

After half an hour's worth of searching, they found Sister Hamasaka's office and darted inside. Shion flipped the light switch, and Chikaru cried out.

"What's wrong?" Shion exclaimed, extreme concern for her girlfriend showing in her face and voice. Then she laughed when she saw Chikaru's hands over her sore eyes. "Sorry about that, Chikaru-chan. I should've warned you."

Chikaru blinked a bit until her brown eyes adjusted to the light. She smiled. "It's okay. I'm alright."

The former Lulim President leaned on the desk while Shion poked around. She could remember this room clearly. Chikaru had sat through so many lectures here, been dealt so many punishments. But that was when she was thirteen. Clearly, she had grown up since then, but there were times --- such as now --- where she'd indulge herself in her little kid urges.

Chikaru snickered, recalling a time when she had been dragged in here for picking flowers from the garden (it's against the rules to do so). She had been thirteen, it was the day before Valentine's Day, and she was planning to give them to Shion the next day. Sister Hamasaka had paced about the room, waving her yard stick about like it was a Glo-stick at a rave, and yammered on and on about respecting school property. When the Sister turned around, she found herself face-to-face with a spider hanging from the ceiling. Hamasaka shrieked and flew back, knocking over a vase of carnations in the process. Nothing daunted, Chikaru had killed the spider and offered to clean up the shattered vase. That had gotten her out of trouble.

_We should fill every drawer in here with spiders, _thought Chikaru. _That would be a pretty sweet prank._

"Ah! Here we go!" Shion threw open the closet door. "Sister Hamasaka's wardrobe!"

It wasn't much of a wardrobe, just fifteen or twenty of the black habits the Sisters were required to wear.

Shion pulled out a habit. She opened her little box and doled out some pearl-like balls in her hand.

"Bath beads?" Chikaru inquired, an eyebrow raised quizzically.

"You're close." Shion was filling the back pockets with the pearls. "These beads are full of a liquid that smells like sewage." She grinned. "So whenever Sister Hamasaka sits down…"

"…it will look and smell like she's crapped herself." Chikaru nodded, her face reflecting her girlfriend's devious smile. "Genius, Shion-chan. Pure genius. Here, let me help."

With the two of them working together, the job was completed in a New York minute. Shion made sure that everything was as it was when they entered. Then she shut off the lights and they departed.

"Shion-chan?" Chikaru whispered, seeing her girlfriend slink off in the opposite direction. "Where are you going? The dorms are THAT way."

"I know," Shion nodded. "We're going to circle around so that if we _do _get caught, we're not seen coming from Sister Hamasaka's office."

"I see." That was clever thinking on Shion's part, Chikaru had to hand it to her. She ran to catch up with her, and the two joined hands. Chikaru playfully poked Shion's cheek as she remarked, "You've got all the makings of a spy, Shion-chan."

---

Meanwhile, Kaname and Momomi were quietly making their way downstairs to the lobby.

Kaname yawned and itched her arm. "Remind me why we're up…?"

"I figured now was the perfect opportunity to trip up Spica's wireless system," Momomi responded. "We'll see how well those bitches can work on their research reports when the internet is running haywire!" She snickered.

Momomi then felt Kaname up through her nightshirt, her other hand touseling the tomboy's short black hair. "Maybe we can make some pookie-pookie in the lake afterwards."

Even though Momomi's gushy affections destroyed Kaname's masculinity, she enjoyed them anyway. She grinned, "Well, I always enjoy pookie-pookie…"

They rounded a corner that would take them to the lobby, and…

…walked straight into Sister Hamasaka.

The Sister blinked, confused at first. Then her face hardened. She inquired roughly, "What are you both doing out here? Show me you ID cards!"

Kaname and Momomi complied. They still had their Spica IDs from last year.

Kaname held up the blue and white card and pointed to the 2009 date. "We were sixth years last year."

"We came back to help with the Drama Festival," Momomi added for good measure.

Whether or not Sister Hamasaka trusted them one couldn't tell from looking at her face. She merely sighed, "Ladies, please. It's late. I was just about to turn in. I realize that you're not within my power to punish, but please do as I say and go back to your room."

Kaname didn't feel like getting into it with the Sister. So, dejected, she and Momomi slunk on back.

"There's always tomorrow night," Momomi shrugged.

---

There was a dress rehearsal at Taro's World the next day. The locker rooms were located behind the amusement park. Over the past four days of employee training, mice had gotten to know each other and were making friends. Once they got into uniform, though, everything changed.

The managers lectured the mice on keeping everything clean. One of them, a lady named Megumi, held up a calendar.

"Ladies, you know what this is. Use it. I've scraped enough blood from the crotches of mouse knickers to make me rich. And don't say, 'I don't wear underpants. I'm a dancer.' You're not a dancer. If you were a dancer, then you wouldn't be here. You're a mouse, so you will wear panties like a mouse."

Yaya, Hikari, and Tsubomi's costumes were gray. At the dress rehearsal Tsubomi found herself clad in gray terry knickers, a gray shirt with three-fingered paws attached and a white belly, and a headband with mouse ears. On the seat of her knickers there was a rubbery pink tail attached that dragged about when she walked. This was her work uniform.

The employees were allowed to give themselves mouse names and change them according to their outlook on the impoverished nation. Hikari deemed herself Martin, and Tsubomi was Cheddar.

Yaya didn't altogether understand the meaning of Tsubomi's name.

"Cheddar? What kind of a name is that?"

The kouhai huffed. "Cheddar --- you know, like cheese. Mice like cheese."

"Oh," Yaya nodded.

"What's _your _mouse name?"

"Nibbles."

"Ugh, Yaya-senpai. Stop being ecchi!"

Yaya tilted her head, her eyebrows raised in confusion. "Nibbles was the name of my pet mouse when I was little. He always used to nibble the cage bars. Why do you think it's ecchi?"

Tsubomi blushed, and turned away. "Never mind."

Yaya grinned. "Sounds like you're the one being ecchi. Naughty Tsubomi!" And she whipped the pinkette's rear end with her tail.

No one objected to Yaya working with a cast. In fact, it added to the theme. A mouse with a broken leg was a welcome sight in Alata.

---

Nagisa stood before Tamao's bookcase, deep in thought. A few days ago she had pondered the question: What do you get the girl who's read everything? Well, the first step to answering that question was finding out the stuff that girl _had _read.

Nagisa's garnet eyes swept over her girlfriend's collection. Indeed, all the classics were there. _Flowers For Algernon_, _War and Peace_, _To Kill a Mockingbird. _Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Hemingway. They were all there. Included were some graphic novels such as _Watchmen_, _Maus_, _Persepolis_, and _Sandman. _Tamao never struck Nagisa as the graphic novel type. But, flipping through _Maus _and coming across all those swastikas, the redhead realized that it was more advanced than she thought. Included in the poet's collection were some fantasy books --- she probably got her interest in it from Arashi. _The Lord of the Rings_, _Redwall_, _Eragon._

Nagisa squinted. It seemed like there was something missing from that collection. She smiled. If Tamao was a fan of fantasy, then she'd love the book Nagisa had in mind for a present.

---

Sister Hamasaka was having a very confusing day. It seemed everyone was avoiding her. Whenever she greeted students, they would clap their hands over their mouths and noses and run off. The Sister exhaled on her palm, and sniffed. Minty and fresh. Then she tried sniffing under her arms. Her deodorant was working.

She blinked. _What in the name of Sam Hill…?_

"Hello, Arakawa-san," she greeted.

The girl named Minako smiled. "Hello, Sister Hamasak-ahhh! _Mmph!_" The little second year coughed fitfully, her violet eyes streaming. She tried to hack out an apology as she ran away.

---

"My poor laptop," Tsubomi sobbed. "This has to be the saddest day of my entire life!"

_Really? _Yaya groaned inwardly. _You're only fourteen, and you've already seen the worst day?_

"Um, Tsubomi-chan," the brunette coughed. "Don't you think you're overreacting?"

"NO!" the kouhai snapped. She turned away from the candles she'd lit around her MacBook, and glared. "This laptop was my lifeline, Yaya-senpai! It saw the creation of several major accounts in my life, including Gmail, Yahoo!, and Twitter!" More tears spilled from her topaz eyes as she bowed her head. She muttered, "Please forgive her, my precious. She doesn't mean to disgrace your memory like that."

"Okay, Sméagol-chan," Yaya sighed. "But as Neil Young put it, 'It's better to burn out than fade away.' So maybe it's best if your…uh, your 'precious' went out with a bang."

For the first time that evening, Tsubomi seemed to take her seriously. She looked up from her laptop --- killed by maybe 479 Trojan viruses --- and whispered, "'Go out with a bang'…What does that mean?"

"I'll show you." Yaya picked up the little laptop, and held it by its charge cord. She stood before the window, which was thrown open to admit a gentle summer breeze. The brunette began to swing the laptop. "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready…"

Suddenly, Tsubomi knew what Yaya was up to. She jumped up. "_Yaya-senpai!!!_"

But it was too late.

"…And four to GO!" And Yaya flung the laptop out the window.

Outside, wee Minako was just barely making the curfew. She fled through the gates just in the nick of time. She turned her face upward to see a laptop go flying out from a third-story window.

She blinked. _Hey. Free laptop. _She ran forward to catch it.

But the charge cord got caught on a tree branch near the window. It looped around several times, before it settled. The MacBook hung from the tree like a gaudy five-pound ornament.

Minako stared up at the computer forlornly. She had a fear of heights, so she couldn't climb trees. _Darn it. _And she slunk inside.

Inside, Tsubomi was yelling so loudly and hysterically, Yaya expected her dead grandmother to pop in and say, "Would you shut up? Some folks are tryin' a sleep."

"Are you retarded?! Are you brain dead?? I'm asking this seriously! Are you really --- I mean, in real life --- medically, clinically, technically, officially fucked up in the head!!!"

"Hey, your precious looks happy enough out there, Gollum-chan…"

"Get out! Get out before I do something we'll both regret!"

---

The first thing Tsubomi woke up to the next morning was the sight of her laptop in the window, just hanging in the tree, stirred occasionally by a breeze.

The kouhai squinted. _I wonder how long it's going to take before the Headmistress busts me for this? _She sighed, and rolled onto her tummy, tired of seeing that laptop.

Well, it didn't take long.

Tsubomi came back to her dorm that afternoon for a lunch break. The first thing she noticed was the awful, strong smell of shit. She could smell it all the way down the hall. The pinkette had hoped that smell wasn't coming from _her _dorm. But it was. Her hand over her face, she forced the door open.

"Okuwaka-san, I want to see you in my office."

Sister Hamasaka.

Tsubomi blinked as tears sprang into her golden eyes. Surely that stink wasn't coming from the Headmistress…? But it was. As she led the kouhai downstairs to her office, the smell slapped Tsubomi in the face multiple times.

When they arrived, Yaya was also there. That was when Tsubomi knew this had to be about the laptop.

Yaya appeared to be holding her breath.

"Nanto-san. Okuwaka-san. I'm sure that you both know what this is about," said Sister Hamasaka as she paced around. "This morning I found, of all things, a laptop hanging from one of Astraea Hill's prized sycamore trees. Quite an unorthodox sight, I must say, but I guess I've come across stranger things in my life…"

Yaya could no longer hold her breath. She exhaled with a _Whoosh! _and tried to breathe through her mouth. That proved ineffective, however, when the smell of crap got caught in her throat. She gagged.

"I'll take it by your sigh that you agree." Sister Hamasaka turned her back then, and Yaya and Tsubomi saw it. A huge dark stain across the seat of the Sister's habit. And, well, it took no genius to figure out that that was the source of the smell.

Yaya fought the urge to smile. "Um, _sumimasen, _Sister…"

"Please do not interrupt me, Nanto-san." Sister Hamasaka continued her lecture on respecting school property.

Yaya looked inquiringly at Tsubomi. The younger girl mouthed "I don't know," and raised her shoulders in a small shrug.

"…So, next time, please dispose of electronics properly," Sister Hamasaka concluded. She whirled around to face the two Spicans. "Now, Nanto-san, what was it that you wanted to say?"

"You've got a huge stain on the back of your habit," Yaya told her deadpan, "and it smells like shi---feces." It was probably a harsh way to talk to a Sister, but Yaya had always valued honesty over everything.

Realization was dawning on Hamasaka's face, a look of oh-my-goodness-that-explains-everything. She unconsciously reached behind her and ran her fingers lightly over the stain. She sniffed them, and actually heaved. Her face turned several colors, first white, then tomato red, then white again. Everything reeling.

"I think…I would've known if I'd soiled myself," she said, more to herself than Yaya and Tsubomi. She hummed a bit, then reached into her back pocket. Hamasaka produced a handful of what appeared to be broken bath beads.

The smell in the room maximized by a hundred, and Yaya and Tsubomi were gasping for breath.

As if in a trance, Sister Hamasaka drifted toward her closet. She opened the door, and checked the back pockets of her other habits. There, unbroken, were more smelly beads.

Her face darkened. "I know who's behind all this!" She tore open her office door and ran out, saying some words that no respectable Sister --- or anyone, for that matter --- should say. Her furious rants faded down the hallway.

For a moment, Yaya and Tsubomi sat there in silence. Then Tsubomi said, "So, uh…Were we just let off the hook?"

"In favor of a greater crime, it appears so." Yaya jumped up, and pulled her girlfriend up with her. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

And they ran out, presumably to take a shower to wash the stench off themselves.

---

Kaname stabbed a paper ball laying forgotten on the courtyard and dropped it in her bag. Nearby, a girl from Miator was crumbling up her persuasive report and casually tossing it on the ground. Enraged, Kaname stormed up to the paper and deposited that as well.

Meanwhile, Momomi picked up a candy wrapper someone had neglected to throw away in, say, a garbage can?!! And, right in front of her, a girl from Spica threw an empty Pepsi bottle on the ground.

"What the fuck!" Momomi screamed at the girl, chasing her away with her pick. "Do you think the world is your trash can?!"

"This sucks, Momomi," Kaname groaned, picking up an empty Sprite can. "I hate trash duty."

"…Especially when it's punishment for something we didn't do," Momomi sighed. "Just because she saw us in the hallway two nights ago…We didn't even do anything! She can't connect us to this incident."

"It's circumstantial evidence, but I guess it's all Sister Hamasaka needs. Still," Kaname grinned, "you gotta admit that that was one awesome prank someone played, whoever it was. I would've done it if I had thought of it."

"I'm sure you would --- HEY! Pick that up and throw it away in a trash can, beyotch! Do you think we LIKE picking up after the likes of you?"

* * *

**Yaya: **So I want to take the time to thank you all for showing concern for my situation with, you know, getting hit by that truck.

**Author: **And thank you for the reviews in general. Aw, Grow Up Already! would really suck if Yaya had gotten written off.

**Yaya: **I'm too awesome to die.

**Author: **You ARE too awesome to die, Yaya-kouhai.

**Yaya, **_sweat-dropping_**: **Uh..."kouhai"?

**Author: **Well, yes. Technically, you are younger than me. You're fifteen-going-on-sixteen in this story, and I turn eighteen in November.

**Yaya: **But...you're so short! You look like you're twelve!

**Author: **I know.

**Yaya: **You're going to get carded to buy alcohol until you're fifty!

**Author: **I know.

**Yaya: **And if someone wants to marry you, it would be like pedophilia!

**Author: **...

**Author: **You are really making me reconsider letting you live, Yaya-kouhai.

NEXT CHAPTER: Happy Anniversary! to Nagisa and Tamao. And amid preparations, they catch up with the Astraea Hill graduates.


	14. Happy Anniversary!

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Happy Anniversary!**

June 21st was like Christmas to Nagisa. For once, she had risen before Tamao and couldn't wait to get the day started.

The redhead got up and paced about, as restless as a tiger at the zoo. She quietly opened her closet and took one last peek inside. Tamao's present was still there, beautifully wrapped, just as it had been the last time she checked.

Nagisa took deep breaths to slow her racing heart. This was exciting. She'd never celebrated a one-year anniversary with somebody. Shizuma had been the kind of person to honor month anniversaries, a concept Nagisa found ridiculous. And before Shizuma…Well, there was nobody…except for that neighbor boy when she was six, but that didn't last more than a week.

_I hope she likes the present. _Nagisa's heart kick-started again. _What if she hates it? Oh God, she's going to hate it! I've made a big mistake!_

A deep dread was slowly overtaking her. Like a panicked version of ALS, it started at her ankles and worked up until Nagisa's entire body was slumped against the closet door frame. She couldn't breathe. Her heart was beating so hard, she was sure people could hear it all the way in Scotland. So dizzy…Head hurts…

"Good morning."

Nagisa cried out in alarm. She jumped up quickly, whacking her head on the door. Sharp pain throbbed and lanced through her head down her neck. The shock combined with the nausea caused her to vomit on the floor.

Tamao swiftly got up. She didn't mean to scare Nagisa, and she certainly wasn't expecting her to throw up. Coughing, Nagisa sat down, her head swimming and throat burning. Tamao was at her side in a flash, her arm around her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" the poet asked. _What a stupid question. Of course she's not okay_, she responded inwardly. _She just barfed her guts out._

"I'm sorry," Nagisa moaned. "I'll clean it up…" She attempted to stand, but it hurt to stand up straight. Her rib cage was almost crying with agony. She leaned against the wall, but her legs buckled underneath her. She sank down to the floor, almost slipping and falling in her own puke.

Tamao helped Nagisa up. "It's okay, Nagisa-chan. I'll clean it." Supporting her girlfriend, the poet guided her to their bed. "Poor baby. You probably have a fever."

Her chest heaving, Nagisa tried to stand up again. "No," she gasped. "I made the mess. I'm going to clean it." Tamao tried to get her to lay down, but she resisted. "I'm not sick. Just a little queasy. It'll pass."

"Nagisa-chan, it's alright. I don't mind."

The redhead huffed, but sat down. "Ugh. Why are you arguing _for _cleaning up my vomit?"

"It's not that I want to. It's that I don't want you to."

"You spoil me," Nagisa argued.

Tamao sighed. "It would be cruel of me to make you clean after you threw up."

"But you're always taking care of me, and I just wanted to give you something in return!" Nagisa's scarlet eyes drifted dully to the present in the closet. She had been so confident when she first bought the books, but now they didn't seem like enough to repay Tamao's favors. "I never want to make trouble…I just…" And, out of nowhere, tears sprang from her eyes. Clinging to Tamao by her waist, Nagisa sobbed, "I just want to be a good girlfriend…"

A bit surprised by the sudden glomp, though not nearly as surprised as Nagisa had been two minutes ago when Tamao innocently greeted her, the poet reciprocated her girlfriend's gesture. Gently running her fingers through Nagisa's auburn hair, Tamao assured softly, "Nagisa-chan, you ARE a good girlfriend. You're the best girlfriend ever."

"I am?" the redhead inquired into Tamao's nightshirt.

"You are. You really are." The poet knelt a little so she could look Nagisa in the eye. "Believe me, you know better than anyone else that I love to take care of people." Tamao squeezed Nagisa's hands and smiled ruefully. "The reason nobody wanted to room with me before you transferred here was probably because I came on too strong. When I tried to take care of my friends, I scared them away."

Nagisa dimly recalled the day when she met Tamao; the poet taking measurements to jot down in her notebook. The redhead wondered what became of that notebook.

Tamao's smile took on a more affectionate radiance. She cupped one of Nagisa's soft, round cheeks in her hand. "I love to take care of people, and sometimes my Nagisa-chan needs taking care of. That's why we're a compatible couple."

Her list of reasons why she loved Nagisa completed (but subject to revision at a moment's notice), Tamao had moved on to listing out why she and Nagisa were a compatible pair. For the first item, the poet had taken Chikaru's zodiac approach: noting that hers and Nagisa's sun signs were compatible. Respectively, Tamao was a Libra and Nagisa was a Sagittarius.

The poet leaned in to kiss her girlfriend, but reconsidered and kissed her forehead instead. "Whether or not you're sick, you should get some rest."

"Okay," Nagisa sighed. "I didn't sleep very well last night anyway."

She settled back in bed. As Tamao pulled the duvet up to her chin, Nagisa said, "Happy one year anniversary, Tamao-chan."

"Happy anniversary, Nagisa-chan," the poet smiled.

Tamao departed briefly to get a bucket of soap water and a mop from the custodial room. By the time she got back, Nagisa had fallen into a deep sleep.

---

One thing Nagisa learned the hard way: Don't go to sleep after you've thrown up. The redhead woke up to the foulest, most disgusting taste in her mouth. It was gross enough to make her throw up a second time.

Nagisa jumped up and ran to the nearest restroom. She was still in her pajamas, and some girls' heads turned as she darted down the hall, but whatever. When she got to the bathroom she spent ten minutes brushing her teeth and five minutes swishing Listerine mouthwash. After that she popped in two pieces of gum for good measure.

---

"Shion-chan's apartment is a trash attack," said Chikaru.

"Really?" asked Kizuna.

The former Lulim President nodded. "It has so many plumbing issues."

It was the middle of rehearsal. Nagisa and Tamao were on stage, acting out the scene where Bella and Edward first meet in biology class. (Nagisa wasn't much for glaring, but she gave it an honest shot.) Meanwhile, in the front rows of the auditorium, the Astraea Hill graduates chatted with the Étoile couple.

"I'm not about to argue this." Shion cringed. "The shower is the worst. There's something wrong with the drain --- I think it's clogged or something. But when you shower, the water level rises to your calves. So you're basically wading in your own filth. It's disgusting."

"I think the toilet's the worst," said Chikaru. "It can't even flush pee!"

"How can a toilet not flush pee?" Setsuko asked.

"I don't know, but Shion-chan's finds a way."

Shion laughed. "The general rule in my apartment where that disaster of a toilet is concerned is: if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown use someone else's goddamn bathroom!"

After the laughter died down, Shion said, "But what about that 'job hunt,' Chikaru-chan!"

"Oh boy," Chikaru laughed. "That job hunt was a hot mess!"

"Tell us about it," Remon pleaded.

"Well," said Chikaru. "All throughout this semester I've had a hard time getting a job. I really thought I had everything going for me, job-wise --- a good work history, I've attained plenty of leadership positions, etcetera. Also, I was really working hard to get a job. But nobody would set aside time for an interview.

"Finally, one day, I got a second callback from Macy's, and they were ready to hire me on the spot. But then I had to go open my big mouth and say that I'd be unavailable over the summer." Chikaru sighed. "I was kicking myself for weeks over that."

Miyuki smiled. "Tell them about Wendy's, Chikaru-chan!"

"Oh! Wendy's!" The former Lulim President laughed. "After the Macy's incident, I managed to get a job at Wendy's, which I didn't like because, you know, it's Wendy's. It was maybe a Monday when I started working there. That very same Monday I received a callback from Timpone's in the middle of my shift. I scheduled an interview, then up and quit Wendy's."

Remon laughed, feeling both amused and outraged. "How long did you work there??"

Giggling, Chikaru shrugged. "I don't know --- four hours?"

Kizuna leaned on the chair in front of her, helpless with mirth. Spending time with her one true oneesama always left her in stitches. Once she managed to stop laughing she took a moment to catch her breath, then sighed, "Ohhh!…But this reminds me --- I need a summer job next month."

"Me, too," Remon nodded.

While Kizuna and Remon talked about jobs, Chikaru conversed with her old friends and classmates.

"I got myself a show," she announced.

Miyuki blinked. "So you started a band now?"

"She means an art show, Miyuki-senpai," Setsuko corrected.

"In January at the Suzuki Youmi Gallery! Check it out!"

Chikaru's major at St. Ninnian University was Liberal Arts. Her portfolio of sketches had earned her quite the scholarship. But sketching was all the art major was familiar with doing. Her classes in the Arts Hall had challenged her to work with other mediums: oils, watercolors, acrylics…Chikaru had always loved experimenting and expanding her abilities, and now she discovered new things she was good at. Her show at the Suzuki Youmi Gallery would feature her latest and greatest attempts at the early modernism style through acrylics.

Their humorous banter was interrupted by the scrape of a throat on stage. They looked up to see Tamao gazing at them from where she stood behind the false lab table.

"Nagisa-chan and I just finished the scene. How were we?"

"And was the lighting okay?" Yaya called from the projector room.

Shion and Amane flushed bright red once they realized that they'd missed the entire scene. Amane called, "Maybe you should rehearse that scene one more time."

They all could hear Yaya's exasperated groan up in the projector room. Tamao rolled her eyes, but took her place at the door. Nagisa sighed, "I can only glare for so long before my face gets tired. This role should've gone to Tsubomi-chan!"

---

That evening Nagisa returned to her dorm to find Tamao brewing something. And by the smell of it, it definitely wasn't tea.

"Espresso!" the poet chirped as the special pot _plup-plupped _away. "Have you ever had it?"

"I've, uh, had coffee," Nagisa responded as she took off her boots by the door.

"Well, espresso's like coffee except it's WAY stronger. That's why you have to drink it out of this tiny cup." She held up the dinkiest coffee cup Nagisa had ever seen. It was so small that Tamao could only hook one finger through the handle.

"I didn't know you had an espresso maker," said Nagisa as she sat down on the floor next to her girlfriend.

Tamao chuckled. "What kind of a writer would I be if I didn't have one? A writer without espresso is like a fish without water." She smiled at her analogy, then said, "Normally I make espresso with regular coffee beans. But tonight is special. Tonight I'm making espresso with Intelligentsia espresso beans!"

"Sounds great," the redhead smiled. Then she absently looked at the door. "Will Hikari-chan and Yaya-chan be joining us?"

"Nope." Tamao edged closer to her girlfriend and put her arms around her. "Tonight it's just us."

The two of them made out for a few minutes, Tamao holding Nagisa by her waist. For the first time today, the redhead felt like she could finally relax. She pulled the poet closer, deepening their kisses. Also, she was beginning to let go of her apprehensions that Tamao would hate her present. _Come on. It's Tamao-chan. She'll flip for it._

By then the espresso maker was perking. Tamao broke off the kiss to serve the black liquid. She quietly, almost reflectively, considered her doll-sized cup before saying, "Nagisa-chan…To three hundred and sixty five days of love."

"Of devoted companionship," the redhead smiled.

"Of mind-blowing sex."

"Of --- wait, what…?"

Tamao laughed. They raised their cups to toast themselves and each other and the unbreakable bond that took them a year to forge. Then they emptied their cups of the espresso.

Nagisa coughed and held her throat. Tamao grimaced at her cup. "This must be why I've never made espresso with espresso beans. Yuck!"

"It tastes like poison," the redhead gagged.

"Well, I smeared polonium in your cup. I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

The poet got another good laugh when Nagisa dropped her cup and scooted away from it, staring at it as if it were a rattlesnake. "I'm kidding! This espresso _does _taste like poison.

"Hey! I have a present for you!"

"After that joke, I wouldn't be surprised if it was an envelope filled with anthrax."

Tamao groaned. "Damn it. I thought I had that envelope well-hidden!"

"Eh?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Gotcha!" the poet laughed, poking Nagisa's tummy.

Tamao reached under the bed, and pulled out a large plate covered by a metal bowl. Upon removing the bowl she revealed a giant two-layer cake with chocolate frosting. The cake was decorated with star- and heart-shaped sprinkles as well as some pink frosting roses.

"Cake!" Nagisa squealed, clapping her hands.

The poet smiled as she sliced the cake. "Anyone could go into, say, a jeweler's and buy their girlfriend a diamond cut and fashioned by someone who doesn't know her. But I opted to make you something myself." She passed her girlfriend a slice and a fork.

Nagisa's garnet eyes swam as she accepted the plate. "Tamao…Thank you. _Domo arigatou._" Then waterfall tears streaked down her face. "But now that makes my present look stupid."

"I'm sure it's not. What did you get me?"

Nagisa got up and headed toward her closet. She opened it, bent over, and retrieved Tamao's present.

Tamao gasped when she opened it. "The _Shannara _trilogy! I've totally been meaning to get this!" Her violet eyes shining, she smiled at Nagisa. "I love it! Thank you so much!"

"Happy anniversary," the redhead muttered sheepishly, glowing in Tamao's gratitude. She dug into her cake, humming appreciatively to let Tamao know that she liked it. She invited her to have a piece too, and they both enjoyed it. Afterward Tamao kissed Nagisa several times; then she led her to their bed, where they made something sweeter than cake.

* * *

Whenever my sisters come home from college, they always have stories --- stories that are equally funny and insane --- that helped me write for Chikaru and the others as college students. The story of Shion's apartment was about my sister's friend; apparently he also found a dead cat in his apartment, but I left that out of Shion's apartment story.


	15. Lesbians and Thespians

Sheesh. I've got to grow up if I'm still inventing chapter titles like this. Enjoy!

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Lesbians and Thespians**

Tsubomi's stress was bordering on panic. The Drama Festival was in less than a week, and the middle schoolers were far from ready! As the appointed gaffer, it was Tsubomi's responsibility to make this year's performance the best darn play anyone had ever seen. It was a weight the young Spican had readily taken on her shoulders, but now it threatened to crush her. But despite all this Tsubomi had to remain strong. Yes, stay strong for Astraea Hill, for Spica, and --- most importantly --- for the first years.

Tsubomi bustled about the powder room and the middle school auditorium. The giant room was alive with the stagehand building props. Hammers slammed, tape tore from cardboard rolls, and Spican crewmates chatted amiably. The pinkette had so much on her plate at this moment, so many things that needed taking care of, and the little perfectionist was tending to them all as efficiently as possible.

"Tsubomi-senpai!"

The third year stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around. She blinked at the prudent little first year in front of her. "Senpai" was not an honorific Tsubomi was used to hearing, but she had been hearing it a lot these days.

"I have the costumes done!" the Spican first year announced with a triumphant smirk. "Let me show you the fruits of my labor!" She grabbed Tsubomi's wrist and led her backstage.

Tsubomi groaned as the first year dragged her along. Kimura Chihiro was a pistol of a first year --- energetic to the fore, but sometimes Tsubomi thought she was a bit too proud. _But_, the pinkette thought, _I suppose I was like that when I was her age. _She made a mental note to apologize to Yaya and Hikari for being such a snot.

Chihiro proudly brought Tsubomi to Chiyo and Kagome, where the pinkette groaned aloud in horror. Both of the lead roles were decked out in skin-tight high-waisted black leather pants. They both wore equally tight silk button-up shirts in jewel colors --- Chiyo's was turquoise, Kagome's was ruby. Kagome was wearing an appropriate cowboy hat, but Chiyo wore a sparkly, flashy sort of sombrero.

"Do you like?" Chihiro beamed, her voice trilling. "It's hip, it's now, it's fabulous!"

"It's awful!" Tsubomi croaked.

Chihiro frowned, her demeanor suddenly foul. "This is the third costume I've designed for you, Okuwaka. You wanted gay cowboy, I gave you gay cowboy!"

"Too much gay, not enough cowboy," the third year coughed. "Actually, I take that back. No self-respecting gay man would want to be caught dead wearing this --- and FYI, Chihiro-san, Chiyo does die by the end of the play! That hat she's wearing could send someone into a seizure! And why a sombrero? This play isn't set in Juarez, you dumbass!"

"Don't lecture me about fashion!" Chihiro snapped. "What do you know about fashion?! You still wear that fugtastic burlap sack you call a 'sweater'!"

"Hey! Don't go bashing my sweater, you impertinent kouhai!" Tsubomi cut herself short. Impertinent kouhai. _Didn't Yaya-chan call me that when I was a first year…?_

Chihiro sighed and threw her hands up. "You know what? I give up. Nothing will satisfy you. Just have Kagome-senpai and Chiyo-senpai act in their uniforms!"

Tsubomi put her head in her hands, massaging away a headache. She had chosen Chihiro to design costumes because the first year had prided herself on being a fashionista. And seeing as Chihiro was good-looking, catty, and bitchy, Tsubomi didn't have a hard time believing that.

The pinkette took out her wallet and thrust a handful of yen at Chihiro. "Here. Run over to Eddie Bauer or something and buy two pairs of jeans and two western shirts."

Chihiro readily accepted the money and flounced off.

"Chihiro-san!"

The first year halted and looked over her shoulder, her face the very picture of cold fury.

Tsubomi stood with her hands on her hips, impaling the little kouhai with her trademark glare. "If you blow my money on gumdrops and jawbreakers, I'll kick you in your goddamn teeth. Do you understand?"

Chihiro's eyes widened in shock. She wordlessly nodded and ran off, visibly shaken.

"Kind of harsh, don't you think, Tsubomi-chan?" Kagome shyly inquired.

Tsubomi sighed and readjusted the black headband she always wore. "Yeah…But Chihiro's a piece of work. Someone's gotta put her in her place, just like --- I suppose --- Yaya-chan did with me." She smiled sheepishly.

---

Dusk was settling over Astraea Hill. Fluffy clouds lined the horizon in shades of purple, amber, rose, and cerise. The sun, pinkened by dusk, resembled a plum sinking into a pool of honey. A warm breeze stirred the trees, lending the midsummer air a cool, crisp scent.

The beauty of an Astraea Hill sunset was lost on young Tsubomi, who slumped wearily on the edge of her bed. Yaya lay nearby, listening intently as her girlfriend moaned out her misery.

"I never want to do gaffer duty ever, ever again. It has to be the most thankless job ever. The first years are all a bunch of little jerks, and --- who the hell do they think they are?" she exclaimed, pounding the edge of her bed. "Do they think they're special because they've completed primary school? Yeah. Well listen, bitches, I finished primary school three years ago." The pinkette huffed. "I mean, Jesus Christ, you fuckers. Show your senpais some respect!"

She turned to face Yaya, only to find the brunette grinning at her.

Tsubomi raised an eyebrow. "You think this is funny? I mean to tell you that I'm at the end of my rope, here!"

Yaya nodded seriously. "I understand, Tsubomi-chan. Believe me, I do. Why, I remember when I was a third year like yourself and I had to deal with this annoying pinker on a day-to-day basis in choir…What was her name, now…?"

Tsubomi harrumphed and drummed her hands on her thighs. "Listen. I showed you and Hikari-senpai way more respect than these brats do to me!"

Yaya clicked her tongue thoughtfully. "Not really. You hung around us all the time like a wet blanket. And you called me a moron and an idiot. Not exactly respectful."

Tsubomi's temper flared visibly --- the way she practically bristled. "I only called you an idiot because you always picked on me!"

"I only picked on you because you were cute!"

"Oh! Well, excuse me!" the kouhai huffed, then turned away. When Yaya's arguments bordered on flirtatious, it was time to give up.

Yaya shifted a bit so she could get behind Tsubomi; the movement was awkward with the cast. She brought her hands to the younger girl's shoulders, and applied gentle pressure with the heels of her hands.

Tsubomi's reaction was favorable. She shut her eyes and moaned. "Mmm, that feels good."

"Your angry face was especially adorable --- it still is. The way you puff your cheeks out. You look like a chipmunk."

"Gee, thanks." The pinkette sighed. "So, if I was so cute, what was the deal with Hikari-senpai?"

"There's a difference between liking someone and thinking she's cute." Yaya cringed at the knot of tension she found between Tsubomi's shoulder blades. "But I think I started liking you during the 2008 Étoile selection --- when you owned up to idiotically worshipping Hikari. I thought, _Wow, maybe she's not as obstinate as I pegged her for._"

"Yeah, but trust me, I wanted to gauge my eyes out after saying that."

"When did you start liking me?"

Tsubomi quietly considered before answering, "I think…I've always liked you." She shifted a bit so she could look at Yaya. "You always handled things in an upbeat way, you were talented…You really had everything going for you."

The brunette winced. "I guess I must've let you down when I told you I was failing Algebra."

"No!" Tsubomi took Yaya's face in her hands and stared at her levelly. "I still love you and admire you. I wish I could be as laid-back and fun as you are." She smiled ruefully. "If I was, I'd probably be a better gaffer."

Yaya pulled her arms around the pinkette's trim waist. "You're a great girlfriend, at any rate."

There had been a repressed sexual fire burning within Yaya, and even the most chaste little kiss with Tsubomi added fuel to the flames. The brunette deepened the kiss to the point where she was actually Frenching Tsubomi. The kouhai had never been kissed like this before; it made her light-headed with euphoria. And Yaya didn't stop there. The senpai pulled Tsubomi close, and began to grind against her, moaning out her joy between kisses. Yaya laid back in her girlfriend's bed, and pulled the pinkette on top of her. This was where Tsubomi resisted.

"I don't…think…we should do…this now, Yaya-senpai," she panted, but her burning topaz eyes said otherwise.

Yaya's chest heaved as she slid her hands up and down Tsubomi's sides. "Answer me this," said she. "How long do you think it's been since we last had sex?"

"Since…you broke your leg?"

"Longer than that."

"Since the Job Fest?"

"Longer than that." Yaya smiled as she brought her hands to Tsubomi's thighs. "Come on. Let's do it."

The pinkette shook her head, and got off Yaya. "_Gomen_, Yaya-senpai. You're in a cast, and… it's nearly 1800 hours. My room mate will be back any minute now."

Then Tsubomi got an idea.

"When does that cast come off?"

"Just before the beach trip. Lucky, right?"

The kouhai nodded. "Let's have sex then." Tsubomi smiled and stroked Yaya's face with her fingertips. "It'll be more convenient that way: we'll be rooming together. Just wait a little bit, and we'll have the hottest sex since Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson released that explicit tape."

Yaya grinned. "Sounds like a plan." She reared up on her crutches. "I should head back to my room. See you around, Tsubomi-chan."

"_Sayonara_, Yaya-chan."

Tsubomi got up to get the door for her girlfriend. As soon as the door opened, Yaya found herself faced by Tsubomi's room mate. The mousy girl jumped in surprise, mumbled, "_Sumimasen, senpai_," and darted inside.

No sooner had Tsubomi shut the door than her room mate pounced.

"Tsubomi-chan! I didn't know you had a girlfriend!"

\ The pinkette blinked. How could this girl possibly know that Yaya was her girlfriend?

Tsubomi scraped her throat. "Um, she's not my girlfriend."

Her room mate looked puzzled. She tilted her head thoughtfully at the door. "Then what? Is she a fuck buddy?"

Once the shock of hearing her normally prudent room mate wore off, it dawned on Tsubomi. She glared. "You were listening in on us!"

"Not 'listening.' I heard you as I came up to the door." Seeing that Tsubomi was still miffed, her room mate added, "Tsubomi. This is a dormitory, not a vacuum."

It was a good thing Tsubomi's mother had been a physics major, or else that little joke would've gone right over her fuchsia-haired head.

Her room mate grinned at the door. "She's cute!"

---

At her first day at work in Taro's World, Yaya started off working as a Magic Window Mouse. Her job was to say, "Step on the Magic Star and look in the window, and you can see Taro-sama!" She was at the Magic Window for maybe fifteen minutes before a woman approached her and said, "You look so fucking stupid."

Yaya had to admit this woman had a point. But still, she wanted to say that at least she got paid to look stupid, whereas this woman gave it away for free. But Yaya wasn't allowed to say things like that because she had to be cheerful.

So instead she said, "_Arigatou!_"

"_Arigatou_!" as if Yaya had misunderstood and thought she had said, "You look terrific."

"_Arigatou_!"

She was a dorky arrogant woman, wearing a high maintenance suit and even more high maintenance makeup. Afterward, Yaya thought that she should have said, real loud, "Sorry, babe, but I don't date other women."

---

Tsubomi Photo Moused for a Taro employee named Masuke. During her shift, two Tokyo families came together to visit Taro. Two loud, ugly husbands with two wives and four children between them. The children gathered around Taro and had their picture taken. When Taro asked the ten-year-old buy to make a special Taro's World wish, his father shouted, "A WOMAN! WISH FOR A WOMAN!" These men were very rude and irritating, constantly laughing and jostling one another. The two women knelt before Taro and requested a KitchenAid brand dish washer and a decent umbrella. Then the husbands knelt before Taro and, when asked to make a wish, one of the men yelled, "I WANT A BROAD WITH BIG TITS!" The man's small-breasted wife crossed her arms over her chest, looked at the floor, and gritted her teeth. Her son tried to laugh.

_That reminds me_, Tsubomi thought absently. _I wonder how Yaya-chan's doing?_

---

By noon Yaya had grown tired of saying, "Step on the Magic Star and you can see Taro-sama!" over and over and started saying, "Step on the Magic Star and you can see Lady Gaga!"

And people got excited. So Yaya said, "Step on the Magic Star and you can see Robert Pattinson!"

Some people in the other line, the line to visit Taro, got excited and cut through the gates so that they could stand on her Magic Star. Then they got angry when they saw Taro rather than Lady Gaga or Robert Pattinson. _What did they honestly expect? _Yaya wondered. _Is Robert Pattinson so hard up for money that he'd agree to stand in front of a two-way mirror in Osaka?_

The angry people must have said something to management because Yaya was taken off the Magic Star and sent to Mouse Island, which is really boring as all you do is stand around and act cheerful. At 1400 hours a huge crowd of retarded people came to visit Taro and passed her on her little island. These people were profoundly retarded. They were rolling their eyes and wagging their tongues and staggering toward Taro. It was a large group of retarded people and after watching them for a few minutes Yaya could not begin to guess where the retarded people ended and the real Japanese people began.

Everyone looks retarded once you set your mind to it.

* * *

NEXT CHAPTER: The Drama Festival!!!


	16. Festival

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Festival**

It was the day before the Drama Festival, and activity in the high school auditorium had lulled somewhat. Preparations for the Festival are always busiest when the date is announced; the thespians and stagehand come to regard that period of time as Hell Week. But now, with the most important preparations made and the play rehearsed to the point where they could act it in their sleep, that Friday was a laidback kind of day. With finals shortening school hours considerably, the students were given unnecessary time to rehearse.

However, that rehearsal just found Nagisa, Tamao, Yaya, and Hikari sitting on the edge of the stage and chatting.

"Huhh! Finals just about killed me this year!" Nagisa sighed.

"Well, fortunately they're over," Tamao smiled.

"…For a while," Hikari pointed out. Then she said, "But hey. You guys will be done with finals forever pretty soon."

Nagisa fell silent and stared at her hands in her lap, her eyes swimming. Tamao gave her an odd look before saying to Hikari, "Yeah, but there'll always be more of them in college." She smiled wryly. "It seems that everywhere you go, a final's gonna be there to whup your butt."

The four of them were quiet, thinking about their futures. Yaya nibbled a hangnail. Though her parents had told her that college was not in her future, still a small part of her opened up to embrace her dream of one day walking in her cap and gown at Meisei University's Vocal Performance Honors Convocation. There her name would be, Nanto Yaya, in the program under a list of students graduating with high distinction.

Yaya frowned and opened her eyes. It was occurring to her that that convocation ceremony would never be anything more than a dream.

"Hey, guys."

The brunette jumped, startled to find Tsubomi strolling down the center aisle toward the stage. The pinkette put her forearms up on the stage, and rested her chin on her arms.

"What's up?" she asked, her topaz eyes shining inquisitively. "Why is everybody so quiet?"

"No reason," Hikari coughed. "What are you doing here, Tsubomi-chan?"

"Rehearsal ended," she shrugged, "so I came over here. Really, nothing got done." She tilted her head at Yaya. "What are you wearing?"

The brunette grinned. "Oh, just a little shirt Hikari-chan and I designed for crew and tech." Her leg cast recently removed, Yaya was able to nimbly leap up on stage and stand with her arms spread so Tsubomi could get a better look. The T-shirt was royal blue with white lettering. The front featured a filtered light and a boom mic. It said: "ST. SPICA CREW AND TECH '09 --- TWILIGHT." Yaya turned around to show the back, which said: "LADY YAYA --- Lighting Technician."

"Hoho, that's rich, Yaya-senpai," Tsubomi snorted.

Hikari laughed. "Yaya-chan and I sort of accidentally named ourselves after famous musicians. I'm Blondie."

"Momomi-san is Moe," said Yaya. "Kaname-san is Special K. Amane-senpai is Anemone. And Shion-san is Neon."

Tsubomi blinked. Her curiosity was piqued. She was both interested and frightened by what Yaya would nickname her if given the chance.

"Did you make any for the middle schoolers?"

"Ah, yes…The kouhais…" Yaya smirked and tapped her chin. Then she sighed. "Well, Tsubomi-chan, I'm sorry to say that Hikari-chan and I had neither the time nor the money to spend on you guys." Upon seeing young Tsubomi's face fall she chuckled. "Yeah, right. We have jobs and too much time on our hands. The T-shirts should be in a box in the powder room. And yours should be on the very top," Yaya called as her girlfriend dashed off in the direction of the powder room.

The stagehand T-shirt thing was a new tradition established by Yaya, her reason being that if thespians could have T-shirts why not crew and tech, too? Tamao and Nagisa had received T-shirts. Theirs were black with green lettering displaying: "ST. MIATOR THESPIANS '09 --- TWILIGHT" on the front. The back of Tamao's shirt said "BELLA;" Nagisa's said "EDWARD."

"It's almost like a sorority," the poet said. "Making T-shirts to go with every event."

"It's kind of fun," Nagisa smiled. "The only downshot is that after this year's Drama Festival, I won't have any reason to wear this ---"

"_YAYA-SENPAI!!!_"

Tamao, Nagisa, and Hikari started so hard that they nearly fell off the stage. Yaya's grin stretched wider at the sight of the rapidly advancing pinkette, a blue T-shirt clutched in her fist.

Tsubomi twisted her shirt into a whip and hit Yaya with it. "You dumb bitch! You crazy idiot! You…"

Yaya laughed as she dodged the kouhai's whip. "Shame, Tsubomi-chan. Is that any way to treat a Lady?"

"Shut up!"

A bit frightened, Nagisa stuttered, "L-let's see your sh-shirt, Tsubomi-chan."

The front of Tsubomi's shirt said: "ST. SPICA CREW AND TECH '09 --- BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN." The back said: "VOLCANO HEAD --- Gaffer."

"Oh, would you relax!" Yaya laughed. "I could've given you a worse name."

The kouhai sighed. "I hope that worse name went to Chihiro-san."

Now Hikari giggled. "Oh, it did, Tsubomi-chan. She's Kenley Collins."

"Huh?" Tsubomi looked confused.

Yaya waved her hand. "Project Runway reference. If your little kouhai friend is as interested in fashion as she boasts, she'll get it."

---

They hung about the high school auditorium until evening started to settle over Astraea Hill, lengthening shadows. A harsh wind whipped the trees about. The bruised cloud sunk low until they finally set the rain free. There wasn't much thunder or lightning, but the rain came down in sheets. According to Amane, there was a flash flood warning in effect for Osaka.

"I wish I'd brought my umbrella," Tamao sighed, hearing the rain pulverize the roof. When she heard no response from her girlfriend, she turned to see what was up. Nagisa stood there, watching the Spica techies wrap things up. She brought her fist slowly to her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Tamao asked.

Nagisa shook her head, an unusual smile on her face. "Nothing's wrong…Just, isn't it weird? It's our last Drama Festival."

The poet gazed at the techies. She thought of herself as a first year, working crew and tech for the musical _Grease._ She thought of Chihiro, the outspoken first year, who had five whole years of the Drama Festival ahead of her. Tamao wondered if Chihiro would look on the Drama Festival with as much contempt now as she would in her sixth year.

"The Drama Festival is supposed to be the happiest day of the year," said Nagisa, "but I feel so sad."

"Yeah," Tamao agreed with a sigh. "I imagine this time of year is the saddest for sixth years, with finals, the Drama Festival, and the trip to the beach. But hey," she smiled, "there'll be other festivals. Whatever college we end up at, there'll be an occasion to celebrate there."

"But we won't be able to celebrate with Yaya-chan or Hikari-chan or Tsubomi-chan…or Chiyo-chan or Kagome-chan…"

---

Tsubomi heard everything Nagisa and Tamao said from backstage. Her mind leapt forward a year, when she would be a fourth year and Yaya a sixth year. The senpai's days would be numbered. There would only be so many I love you's left to say, only so much time to spend together. That was what got to Tsubomi --- that rushed feeling, never enough time, never enough. How often did Yaya think of stuff like this?

Tsubomi turned and ran to the nearest door. The door opened to a darkened stairwell. The pinkette ran up the stairs as fast as she could until she reached the projector room.

Yaya was tinkering a bit with the lights, making sure all was ready for tomorrow. She gave a startled cry when she felt someone grab her from behind.

"Aah! What the…?"

"Yaya…"

The brunette's brown eyes widened. "Tsubomi…" She awkwardly twisted around so she could face her girlfriend. "What's wrong?"

Tsubomi's golden eyes were bright with tears. "Nothing's wrong," said she, her voice thick with emotion. "Do you…ever feel like 'I love you' isn't a powerful enough phrase to express how you feel?"

Yaya blinked. "What?"

"Yaya, I love you."

"Um…"

And just as Ennis Del Mar had done to Jack Twist, Tsubomi forced Yaya against the wall for a kiss.

---

Nagisa was roughly shaken awake the next day. She blinked a bit, then stared at the sight of what Tamao was wearing.

"You plan to go to the Festival in that?"

Tamao smiled. She was wearing a blue yukata. "Of course. This is a festival. It's an occasion to not wear your uniform."

Nagisa's garnet eyes sparkled in amazement. She turned her girlfriend around to get the full view of her outfit. "Did you tie this yourself?"

"Oh, no," Tamao giggled, blushing sheepishly. "I bought it pre-tied."

"A-aren't you worried that you're going to be…overdressed?" the redhead asked. "I mean, it's just the Astraea Hill Drama Festival."

"It's a public event. Lots of people will be here. They're our audience."

Nagisa's face fell. "I don't have a yukata here. Mine's at home."

"Hey, no worries." Tamao went over to Nagisa's closet and rummaged through it. She emerged with a black tanktop with silver printing depicting a rose and a pair of blue denim shorts. "_Très mignon, non?_" she inquired, winking at her girlfriend. "It's not a particularly formal event, so this attire is acceptable."

---

It worked out for the best because Tamao wasn't overdressed and Nagisa wasn't underdressed. Plenty of people were dressed up, but plenty of people wore their day clothes.

Since the plays weren't performed until the evening, the thespians and techies were allowed to enjoy the day. And did they! Nagisa, Tamao, Yaya, Hikari, Tsubomi, and Amane stopped by several tents to order food. The food and drinks were always the best part of the Drama Festival. Mustard fried catfish, fried cauliflower, ribs, gelato of several delicious flavors from tiramisu to pistachio to watermelon. There were drinks like soda, iced tea, coffee, and water. But there were also alcoholic beverages: sake, Dog Fish Head apricot beer, India pale ale, stouts such as Rasputin Stout and pilsners such as Miller Lite, there were mojitos made with Bacardi rum, gin and tonics made with Tanqueray gin, cosmopolitans made with Absolut vodka, and margaritas made with Jose Cuervo tequila. There was a mocktail called Shirley Temple, which simply included Rose's grenadine and Canada Dry ginger ale, and which Tsubomi ordered. Hardly anyone ordered anything alcoholic, save for Hikari, who ordered a mojito.

"Whoa, daddy!" Yaya crowed. "You never struck me as the type to drink, let alone order a _double _mojito!"

"Well…" Hikari blushed as she sheepishly stirred the mint leaves in her drink. "My parents have always let me drink. They know I'm responsible enough to handle it." Hikari took a sip of the lime-flavored cocktail, humming pleasantly as the rum warmed her throat and stomach on the way down. "Not as good as my father's mojitos, but I'll give it an eight."

"My dad would have a field day at this festival…" Tamao mumbled, looking around at the glowing Miller and Budweiser signs.

"_TSUBOMI-SENPAI!!!_"

The six of them halted and turned around. Chihiro came marching up to them. She didn't look happy, but when is Chihiro ever happy?

"What is _this?!_" the first year growled, indicating the nickname on the back of her tech shirt.

Tsubomi shrugged mutely, nibbling the cherry on a toothpick that came with her drink.

"Just when I was starting to like and respect you…" Chihiro paused to shudder at the rage she was feeling. Then she started jabbing her finger at Tsubomi. "…you go and nickname me after a bratty Project Runway contender who only got famous after her appearance on that show for throwing a laptop and a cat at her ex!"

Tsubomi wanted to say that it was not she who designed the shirts. But she felt no desire to drag poor Yaya into junior high drama, so she simply said, "At least she never threw the laptop out the window." She winked at Yaya, who grinned in reply.

Chihiro blinked. Then she was doubly enraged that Tsubomi's only retort was a private joke. What do you say to that? "I don't get you!...And…and the worst part about being Kenley Collins is that her designs sucked!"

"Well, so did yours," the pinkette responded coolly.

Chihiro stood mute for a second, grappling for a retort. But there is a certain time limit between arguments before a response loses its effect. Chihiro's time ran out, so all she said was "I hate you!" before storming off.

The six of them took a moment to recover from the first year attack. Then Nagisa said, "Sweet girl." Yaya added, "Love her claws."

---

Nagisa had gone without a drink for the whole morning, nothing so much as a cup of water. Around noon, her thirst got the best of her. And her overwhelming curiosity of what alcohol was like. So she broke down and decided to buy a drink.

Tamao stood in line with her, holding the redhead's hand whilst she examined the menu.

"You don't strike me as the beer type," said the poet, "unless it's a lite beer like Miller Chill. You'd probably like Cuba Libre…It does have Coke in it, and you're a fan of Coke…Don't get a gin and tonic, though. It tastes like ditch water…Same goes for margaritas. They taste like crap, and they'll make you so drunk it's not even fun anymore."

Nagisa blinked. "The knowledge you have about alcohol scares me a little, Tamao-chan." She pulled Tamao close for a moment. "I do hope I'm not dating an addict."

Normally Tamao would laugh at the redhead's flirtatious jokes. But for her, alcoholism was no joking matter. "I get a lot of knowledge from my dad. He's like the guru of booze."

"Really," Nagisa sighed.

"Yeah…But that's just a cutesy name for an alcoholic…"

The man attending the tent, a short bald guy with hairy arms and a sweaty long-sleeved plaid shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his knobby elbows, leaned forward. "What'll it be, miss?" he asked.

"Uhh…Cuba Libre, please," Nagisa requested.

"Coming right up." The man turned away to make her drink. The two girls watched --- Nagisa with fascination, Tamao with a homely sort of familiarity --- as the bartender filled a racing shot with rum and poured the sweet hard liquor in the cup. Then he added two liters of Coca-Cola. Lastly, he rolled a lime about on the table to make it juicier, sliced it in half, and squeezed the juice in the drink. Taking a small wooden popsicle stick, he stirred the contents and, _voil la!_, he'd made a Cuba Libre.

"That'll be five hundred yen," he said, handing her the drink.

Nagisa pulled out the required amount and handed the bartender the money. She thanked him, and just as she was about to depart, a masculine voice growled in her ear, "Shame, Nagisa. What would Ma and Pa say if they saw you drinking?"

The redhead gave a startled squeak, then whirled around. Then she recognized the voice, and the boy standing in front of her. He was very tall with neatly cropped red hair and expressive eyes the color of red wine. His arms were corded with lean muscle, and he wore a T-shirt that said _Arcade Fire._

"Hideshi!" Nagisa exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Hideshi winked, grinning playfully. "Miss my klutzy little sister play a vampire? I would never!"

"Ha," the redhead responded, sipping her drink. Her demeanor appeared sullen, but Tamao caught the grudging affection gleaming in her eyes.

"Your brother?" she inquired.

"_Hai_," Nagisa responded. Then she introduced them. "Tamao-chan, this is my older brother, Aoi Hideshi. Hideshi, this is my…erm, friend, Suzumi Tamao."

Hideshi gripped Tamao's hand in a strong handshake. "Pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," the poet responded. "…Uh, does _everybody _in your family have red hair, Nagisa-chan?"

Both brother and sister shook their heads, and Nagisa said, "Mikaya, our sister, has black hair."

"That would be the color of her soul," Hideshi grunted. Then he grinned and said, "So, Nagisa! I'm surprised to find you in one piece. Remember the time you broke your knee tripping over a paperclip?"

"What?" Tamao laughed.

"Hideshi!" Nagisa roared.

"That thing was in plain sight! And you just went: slip, bang, crash! Only you could break your knee tripping over a paperclip!"

"Pure Nagisa," the poet agreed.

Nagisa glared. She wasn't liking the turn this conversation was taking.

"Or how about all those times when we were little --- when Ma would leave us in the car in a grocery store parking lot, and you would honk the horn until the police came!"

"Oh, come on! You used to help me with that!" the redhead protested. "What about when_ you _made that awful ashtray in art class and presented it to our grandma as a gift!"

"Nagisa, that was you."

Tamao laughed.

The redhead's face burned. "Well...You would've done it..."

---

Hideshi eventually departed to flirt with some cute girl, leaving Tamao and Nagisa to pal around with Yaya, Tsubomi, and Amane. A few moments later, Hikari joined them, shaking her head in confusion.

"I just had some weird guy with red hair offer to buy me a drink."

Nagisa laughed so hard, she hurt her ribs.

Their conversation turned to family until it was a competition. And a fierce competition it was. The three finalists were Tamao, Yaya, and Amane. Tamao had an alcoholic father, Yaya had five other siblings and two more on the way, and Amane's mother was a kleptomaniac. But with her parents' divorce and her mother's being forced to take care of her sick divorced husband, the poet definitely came out on top of the my-family's-weirder-than-yours contest.

Tsubomi eventually ran into her family during the evening hours. She was at the shooting gallery, when a familiar eleven-year-old girl popped up beside her and picked up the other gun.

"Let's make this a contest, oneechan."

The pinkette smiled. "Right, Akiko. As if we don't compete with each other enough."

At a pull of a lever from the gallery watcher, a cardboard duck shot out at the speed of light, rending the night air with its horrid mechanical quacking. Tsubomi fired her rifle, smiling in satisfaction as the creature's head blew off. Akiko looked on with a mix of fascination and horror; she'd never fired a gun before. Akiko was a smallish girl with sky blue hair in pigtails and those signature Okuwaka topaz eyes.

"Akiko!" Mr. Okuwaka roared. "What are you doing? You can't let Tsubomi beat you! Go! Fire!"

Shaken, the younger girl raised her rifle and fired without looking. The shock jolted her all the way through her arms. She winced, and dropped the gun.

"I give! I can't do this!"

And so Tsubomi won.

Mr. Okuwaka shook his head. "Man oh man, Akiko. Don't you ever even want to stand on the same level as your sister?"

"Firing rifles is hard!" Akiko protested, her body sagging dejectedly. "I could do it if it was a pistol..." She brightened a little. "Oneechan!" she called to Tsubomi. "Did you hear? I'm applying to take the Astraea Hill entrance exams!"

"Akiko, that's great!" the pinkette cheered, ruffling her sister's bangs. Tsubomi handed Akiko the lollipop she'd won. "Good luck. I hope you get into Spica."

Mr. Okuwaka huffed. "No such luck, I suppose. Can you see Akiko getting into the most prestigious school on campus?"

"Um," Tsubomi coughed, "Miator is actually the most prestigious. Spica is second best." She checked her watch and exclaimed, "Ohmigosh! The play starts in an hour! I gotta get to the auditorium!" And, amid her father's protests, Tsubomi ran like the wind for the auditorium.

* * *

NEXT CHAPTER: The plays! Will they go smoothly? Or will it be a trainwreck? A shocking confession shakes the middle school troupe to its core.


	17. The Secret Life of Techies

I didn't think I could update tonight, but sometimes you never know. Here's chapter seventeen! Enjoy, and reviews are welcome and appreciated of course.

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**The Secret Life of Techies**

Yaya burst into the high school projector room, gasping for breath. The Spican had run a little bit late, but not too much. The play was scheduled to start at 1800 hours, and it was currently 1715 hours.

Momomi looked over her shoulder, a bit startled. Then she frowned. "Oh, it's just you."

"Who else were you expecting?" Panting, Yaya sat down next to Momomi, who was the assistant lighting technician. Through their giant window they could see the stage, so far away, with the curtain drawn. Momomi had already set up the filtered lights to display the likenesses of a smiling mask and a frowning mask on the curtain. Below them, the auditorium slowly filled with spectators. They were so tiny, they almost looked like a flesh-colored sea filling the auditorium. It almost made Yaya a little sick to look.

"Don't get me wrong, I love the shirts," said Momomi, trying to make conversation, "but why am I 'Moé'? Am I really clumsy?"

Yaya blinked. "Oh. No. Not _that _moé, not the _good _kind of moé. Moe as in Moe, Curly, and Larry…Moe as in the first syllable of your name."

"Ah. I see. Cute." Relating with such a young girl wasn't Momomi's strong suit (she was already socially awkward anyway), so she kept her responses short and gruff. Eventually she said, "I found this really weird button on the control board. Do you know what it does?"

She pointed out a greenish-blue button. Yaya tilted her head oddly. She didn't pay the control board much heed, and was surprised that Momomi was so observant. The raven-haired girl shook her head.

Momomi's finger strayed closer to the button. "Let's push it and see what happens."

Yaya stayed her hand. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

---

Nagisa stared at herself in the mirror, suppressing giggles. Hikari and Amane had done a good job on hair and makeup. Nagisa's red hair was let down and gelled into a touseled style à la Robert Pattinson. Her eyebrows were thickened, her skin paled, and some authentic-looking red stubble graced her chin and upper lip. For clothes Nagisa wore a white dress shirt, a brown sweater, and black slacks.

"I look like Hideshi," she laughed.

Amane approached her with an oddly-shaped bicolor case. "Have you ever worn contacts, Nagisa-kun?"

The redhead accepted the case and flipped it open. Inside, submerged in some funny-smelling liquid, were two amber-colored contact lenses.

"No," she answered. She could tell by the look on Amane's face that this was not the answer the horseback rider wanted to hear. So Nagisa hurriedly added, "But then, I've put on mascara and eyeliner before, so I should be able to put in contacts."

Easier said than done. The effects of her Cuba Libre lingered on, bringing her already low coordination down to ground zero. Nagisa fought to keep her hand steady, but it wobbled crazily. Her vision swam and swayed with drunkenness, causing her to miscalculate where the contact lens in front of her actually was. Eventually Nagisa ended up accidentally dropping the lens. Amane picked it up, cleaned it, and squirted fresh solution into it.

"Here," said she, grabbing hold of Nagisa's forehead, her thumb prying open her right eye. "Let me put it in for you."

Despite the redhead's squirming and nervous squeals, Amane got the butterscotch lens in in a trice. She was about to put in the left one when Tamao came up to them.

Tamao was Beautiful in Black. Her cerulean hair was done up under a black wig. Her attire was more casual: a pair of jeans, a red hoodie, and a tan spring jacket.

"I look like my mother," she commented.

Nagisa groaned. "Gosh thanks, Tamao-chan. Like I want to be in a play where I'm in love with my girlfriend's mother."

"Yeah, well, I don't want to be in love with _my _girlfriend's brother." The poet noticed that Nagisa tended to be more sarcastic and argumentative when she was drunk.

The redhead shifted her eyes to get a better look at Tamao. Those same friendly violet eyes, only now the poet had black hair down to the middle of her back. _So that's Katayanagi Nobuyuki. _Nagisa wondered when Tamao was going to introduce her to her parents. The redhead wanted to at least meet Suzumi Arashi, the paternal figure who'd had such a strong influence on her girlfriend.

"Keep your eyes on me, Nagisa-kun," Amane ordered. "It's easier for me to get this contact in if you do."

Tamao smiled. "You'll want two golden eyes, or else you'll look like Lucia-san from _Venus Versus Virus._"

Nagisa complied with the former Étoile's orders, and Amane got the left contact in. The redhead blinked a bit, adjusting to having the lenses in. Tamao personally thought she looked better with her usual wine-colored eyes.

Hikari hurriedly approached Amane. The blonde Spican gently touched her lover's shoulder, but her soft voice was tinged with urgency. "Amane-senpai, can I speak with you in the prop hall?"

Looking both bemused and frightened, the older girl agreed. She and Hikari joined hands and departed.

As they left, Kaname burst in. The metaphorical graduate's face expressed a dreadful realization common in women who have discovered too late that they've either set their house on fire or jumped too quickly into stagework. Kaname had spent all evening carrying out orders for Miator and Lulim thespians. Sighing, she grouchily approached Nagisa and thrust the requested bottle out at her.

"Your lemonade, sir."

Nagisa glared at the bottle of lemonade as if Kaname had just offered her a glistening piece of dogshit.

"I asked for sake."

The tomboy shot the redhead a glower that would have wilted a flower. "No. You asked for chocolate milk. So I brought you chocolate milk. Then you wanted iced tea. So I brought you iced tea. Then you…"

Nagisa cut her off with a wave of her hand. "Yeah, uh, I stopped listening to your whining, like, half an hour ago. Sake! Go!"

For a moment Kaname looked like she would bash the lemonade bottle over Nagisa's gelled head. In the end she just threw it down on the floor, kicked it, and stalked off.

At that point Tamao had tolerated enough of Nagisa's drunken bitchery. The poet did the unthinkable; in her anger and frustration she slapped Nagisa. Tamao flinched at what she'd just done, and quickly withdrew her hand. The redhead clapped a hand to her reddening cheek, her now topaz eyes wide with shock.

Fear swamped the poet's veins, kicking up her heart rate. She extended a shaky hand to her stricken girlfriend. Nagisa squeaked and shrank away.

Tamao's eyes welled with tears. "Nagisa-chan, listen to me…"

"No!" Nagisa had her arms clamped around her body, staring at Tamao wide-eyed. "No…" And she turned and ran away.

The poet didn't bother chasing her; Nagisa was frightened and inconsolable. Not even Shizuma had been this violent with her. But Tamao hated what alcohol had done to her father, and what it was now doing to Nagisa. Like the redhead needed sake when the Cuba Libre had already reduced her to a crazy wreck. Her tears fell, blackened by mascara.

Kaname ambled in, a yellow bottle in her hands. She blinked. "Where's Nagisa-kun?"

The only response she got was some quiet sobbing from Tamao.

Kaname quietly considered the sake, sighed, and shook her head. "Well…I don't want this, so you take it." She set the bottle down next to the poet and walked away, muttering, "At least now I'll get a break from His Majesty's orders…That brat…"  
The sight of the sake unleashed another round of sobbing. Tamao sunk to the floor. But these were no longer sad tears. They were tears of rage. She wasn't sure what or who she was mad at: her dad, Nagisa, her mom, cancer, the sake…

She glared daggers at the booze. _You…You gave my dad cancer, ruined his marriage to my mother, you're making his cancer worse, you've turned my girlfriend into a bitch, and you pushed me to hurt her. _"Hate" did not even _begin _to describe how Tamao felt about alcohol. At that moment she took a vow of abstinence.

_But that's not good enough, _she thought, a fresh flow of tears flooding from her eyes. _Nagisa-chan could never forgive me for this._

---

"Alright, ladies!" Tsubomi bustled about, readying the cast and crew for the nearing performance of _Brokeback Mountain. _"The play's in half an hour! Where's Kagome-chan?"

"I'm right here, Tsubomi-chan." The Lulim kouhai raised her hand. Her soft brown curls were packed away under a cowboy hat and she wore jeans, boots, and a brown plaid western shirt.

"You're immediately in the first scene." The pinkette beckoned. As Kagome followed her to the middle school stage entrance Tsubomi said, "Honestly, Kagome-chan. Do you have to have that bear with you up on stage?"

"Yes." Kagome's response was more forceful than Tsubomi knew her for. "And 'that bear' has a name."

The pinkette threw up her hands and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Keep Pashibaru. I just thought a mealy-mouthed waif toting a teddy bear doesn't do Ennis Del Mar much justice."

Kagome seemed to glare a little.

"God, you're pathetic." The two third years whirled around to find Chihiro tagging along. "You didn't even _try _to argue. You were just, 'Okay. Keep Pashiwhoseywotsis.'" She folded her arms across her chest and smirked at Tsubomi. "Beaten by a kid who carries a bear. How low _can _you sink, anyways?"

Tsubomi glared. "Do you have anything better to do than follow me around and insult me? Get a life!"

But Chihiro wasn't backing down. She was a feisty little girl with long blue hair and brown eyes. She stepped closer to Tsubomi and said icily, "You can't even get me to obey your orders, and I'm only twelve! Try me, Tsubomi-senpai. Try to get rid of me."

Tsubomi actually considered hitting her. It would be so easy: Chihiro was standing right there asking for it. But the pinkette disapproved of hasty violence. She was better than that. So she walked away with Kagome and said, "Forget it. I've got more important things to do than mess with a little kid like you."

Chihiro's harsh laughter stung her from behind. "I knew it! You're too scared to hit a first year! That's so lame! Ahahahahaha!"

A few other Spican first years joined in Chihiro's laughter. The general consensus among them was that Tsubomi was as weak as a kitten. Chihiro cackled, "She's so weak, she doesn't deserve to have 'tsu' in her name! She should be Derebomi!"

The first years roared with laughter at this.

Tsubomi stopped dead in her tracks. This was too much! She gritted her teeth and made her hands into fists so tight her knuckles were white. She quivered with rage.

Kagome lightly touched her shoulder. "Pay her no heed, Tsubomi-chan. She's just trying to get a rise out of you."

The pinkette ground out, "Kagome-chan, I want you to take your place on stage and act out scene one as you've rehearsed it. Can you do that for me?"

_I don't think she even heard a word of what I just said. _"Yes, of course, Tsubomi-chan." And Kagome hurried off to carry out the gaffer's orders.

Tsubomi turned around and slowly approached Chihiro. Now the first years went, "Oooooohhh!" The pinkette never realized how obnoxious twelve-year-olds could be.

She allowed herself a smile. _Ha. I just sounded like Yaya-chan there._

Tsubomi folded her arms and crouched a bit so she could look her charge in the eye. "We know '_tsubomi_' means 'strength in grace.' But what does '_chihiro_' mean?"

The blue-haired first year swelled with pride. "'Angelic beauty,' Derebomi-senpai."

Tsubomi started to laugh. Chihiro chuckled along with her until the pinkette spontaneously seized her and hauled her up by her shirt.

"Listen, bitch. I don't _want _to hurt you, but God help me I will if you don't call me by my name!" When Chihiro didn't respond, Tsubomi shook her violently. "_Call me by my name!!!_"

"Ts...Ts-Tsubomi-senpai..."

The pinkette lowered her chin and stared levelly at Chihiro. "Good..." she said at length. "You were right, though --- 'chi' in a name implies goodness. But you haven't done one good, let alone productive, thing for the troupe. Therefore, I dub thee Onihiro."

The newly christened first year blinked in fright. Beauty in devilry.

Tsubomi lowered Chihiro back to the floor, but held her shoulders to keep her from running away. She could feel the first year shaking. The pinkette liked the way Chihiro was looking at her: wide-eyed and fearfully. The way a kouhai should look at a senpai.

"Now, right from the off you've been nothing but trouble. You never gave me the proper chance to give you a real reason to hate me. Why _do _you give me such grief?"

Chihiro didn't respond. She swallowed hard. Sweat beaded her forehead.

"Is it because I'm older?"

"Nuh-no..."

"Is it because you have problems with authority?"

"No..."

"Then what is it?"

It was something big, Tsubomi could tell by the way the first year was acting. The reason extended beyond the Drama Festival; it was a big part of Chihiro. The younger girl's mouth fell open and she made some choking noises before roaring, "It's because I like you, okay?!"

Oh.

In her shock, Tsubomi's grip on Chihiro's shoulder loosened. The first year tore away from her, her face red. The other techies were whispering among themselves.

Chihiro burst into tears. She covered her face with her hands, and ran away.

---

Tamao looked up in surprise when she felt someone's arm come lightly around her shoulders. She turned around hopefully. It was not Nagisa. It was Suki.

"What are you crying for?" the Lulim fifth year asked softly. "I mean, it's just a bottle of sake."

The poet looked at the wretched bottle and laughed. She realized how silly she must have looked, clutching a bottle of liquor and sobbing like a baby.

Suki took the bottle from her and glared at it. "You mean old sake. You hurt my senpai's feelings and made her cry. Apologize!" She turned the bottle around so the logo faced Tamao. "The sake says _gomen nasai_."

"It's okay," Tamao sniffled. "I wasn't crying over the sake anyways."

"Oh." Suki smiled slightly and her hazel eyes sparkled. "Well, I'm glad I got to be someone for you to laugh at when you're down." She pulled a victory fist. "Yay! I'm special!"

Tamao laughed again, and Suki helped her up. The Lulim girl was dressed and made up for the part of Alice. Her pixie hair, normally neat and kempt, was spiked and frazzled a bit. She wore loads of dark eye makeup which she claimed made her look like a "starved raccoon." (This earned her another hearty laugh from Tamao.) Her clothes were black, her whole appearance gothic.

Suki clicked her tongue. "Tch, tch. Tamao-senpai, you've gone and messed up your mascara. Hikari-chan will have to do it over." She smiled wryly. "Good thing I didn't cry, eh? My face would look like a sad mime's." She took Tamao's arm and led her in a search for Hikari.

"Suki-chan...?" Tamao said softly.

"_Hai. _What is it, Tamao-senpai?"

"You and Hitomi-chan seem so close. How long have you known each other?"

"_Known? _Long time, Tamao-senpai." The Lulim girl silently considered the question. "Since fourth grade, in primary school. As for dating, since our second year at Astraea Hill." She blinked, then looked at Tamao. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Do you two ever fight?"

Suki laughed. "Of course we do. Despite her gentle exterior, Tomi-chan's actually pretty scary when she's angry."

"Am I, now?" Tamao turned around to see Hitomi walking alongside them. Her normally serious face broke into a grin, and her blue eyes sparkled behind her glasses.

"Yeah," Suki chuckled, halting. "Have you ever heard yourself scream? You sound like a pterodactyl." She cleared her throat. "I don't suppose you know where Hikari-chan went off to?"

"Somewhere to talk with Amane-sama." Hitomi was pensive a moment, then she snapped her fingers. "The prop hall was where they went. I could take Tamao-senpai for you, Suki-chan."

"Alright. _Arigatou_, Tomi-chan." Suki kissed the blue-eyed girl softly on the cheek before departing.

"The prop hall is this way," said Hitomi as she led Tamao to it. As if the poet needed direction to the prop hall. It was where she and Nagisa officially sealed their relationship tight and secure from Shizuma one year ago.

"So, uh...Why does Tamao-senpai want to know about me and Suki-chan fighting?"

"Nagisa-chan and I got into a fight, and I..." Tamao shuddered. It was too horrible for her to talk about.

Hitomi saw her senpai's troubled expression, and understood. While she didn't know what happened exactly, she knew it was something truly awful. "Give her some time to ride it out, then apologize to her. I'm sure Nagisa-senpai will forgive you."

"Yeah...Thanks, Hitomi-chan."

"No problem."

They reached the prop hall. Hitomi pushed the door open and flipped on the light.

The Lulim girl shrieked in shock. Tamao face-palmed. The two of them slammed the door and ran like chickens with their heads cut off. They finally came to a halt in the powder room. They stood a moment, trying to catch their breath.

Tamao brought her hand to her chest, feeling her heart race. "Did we just walk in on Hikari-chan and Amane-senpai---"

"Yeah. We did." Hitomi brought a hand to her brow, massaging what had clearly become a huge headache. "Oh, man..."

"Hey, guys."

Tamao and Hitomi cried out in alarm as Suki approached them. "Did you find Hikari-chan and Amane-sama?"

"No," Hitomi said quickly, waving her hands and shaking her head. "We have no idea where they are." She gulped. "M-maybe you could redo Tamao-senpai's makeup. It'll be like _The Great Gatsby _all over again."

"Okay. Yamoto Katsuki to the rescue!" Suki led a thoroughly shaken Tamao to a mirror and redid her makeup.

---

Tsubomi waited until Act One of _Brokeback Mountain _was completed before looking for Chihiro. The pinkette felt awful about forcing such a personal confession out of her in front of a big group of people. Even though Chihiro had been nothing but a pain in the ass, Tsubomi still felt bad about making her cry.

_I can't believe she's liked me this whole time. What an odd way to express your feelings. _Tsubomi sighed. _And now I have to let her down. _While looking for Chihiro the third year thought of ways to let her down gently.

Tsubomi found Chihiro in the stairwell leading to the projector room. The blue-haired girl sat alone in the poorly-lit room on the floor, her back against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. She saw Tsubomi enter and feigned indifference, but the pinkette saw her blushing.

Tsubomi wordlessly took a seat next to the first year. Chihiro scooted away, wiping her shaky sweaty hands on her skirt.

"I came here to apologize," said Tsubomi. "I never wanted my anger to get the best of me. But it did, at your expense. I'm very sorry."

Chihiro just snorted. "Like your apology helps at all."

Tsubomi glared. "Hey! I already know you like me, so you can just drop this evil bitch front!"

The first year's young face softened, and her brown eyes swam. "I'm sorry...about everything. All those times I made fun of you. After everything I've said, I hardly think I'm worthy of an apology from you."

"Well, you are. You're only human, after all."

The two of them fell silent. Chihiro was shaking so hard, Tsubomi could see it visibly from where she sat. She smiled.

"So, Chihiro-san, you like me."

"U-um, yes..." Chihiro closed her eyes and tried to steady her erratic breathing. "I do. A lot."

Tsubomi laughed nervously and brought her hand back behind her head. "Well, you got a funny way of showing it."

"I-I've never felt this way b-before. I used to s-s-see you in ch-choir class, and I w-wanted to talk to you. B-but I never knew what to say," Chihiro sighed. "Eventually I settled for observing you at a distance."

_That sounds familiar_, Tsubomi thought oddly. _Where've I heard that? _Then it clicked. _Oh, yeah. Hikari-senpai. _She suppressed laughter. _Spica's gotta stop recycling the same old love stories._

"Then the Drama Festival came," Chihiro continued. "I found out Spica was working crew and tech, and you were the gaffer. I was like, 'Oh crap, what if she talks to me?' You know? 'What do I do? What do I say?'"

"So...you insulted me?"

The first year shrugged. "Defense mechanism. I was going by instinct."

"You've got some wicked instincts, Chihiro-san," Tsubomi chuckled.

Chihiro wrung her hands. "This is just weird for me, okay? Whenever you're around me, I feel like my head's spinning." She brought her hands to her warm cheeks. "I can feel it spinning right now. I'm afraid I might faint. Does this happen to everybody?"

Tsubomi nodded. "It's totally normal to feel this way." She sighed, hoping this wouldn't turn into a discussion about the birds and the bees.

Chihiro shifted a bit so she could face Tsubomi. "I have to ask this because it's making me crazy...But do you like me back?" As soon as she asked that she looked away. "I'll understand i-if you don't. After how I've been, why would you?"

Tsubomi took a preganant pause to choose her words. "See, Chihiro-san, it's..."

"You don't." Chihiro sighed. "I knew it."

"Under normal circumstances I probably would date you. But there's someone else. I, um, have a girlfriend already."

"Mm. I'm not surprised. An amazing girl like you ought to have a dozen girlfriends."

_Wowee. She is laying it on thick! She must really feel bad about those insults._

"Who's the lucky girl?" Chihiro asked. "Do I know her?"

"You probably do. Nanto Yaya."

"Yaya-senpai..." Chihiro grunted. "Figures. I always see you with her." The first year shook her head. "She is _so _lucky."

Outside the stairwell, they could hear the thespians and techies searching for Tsubomi.

"Sounds like I'm needed," the pinkette sighed, getting up.

Chihiro cleared her throat. "Are we cool?"

Tsubomi raised an eyebrow. "Are you still an asshole?"

The first year pursed her lips. "I don't think so."

Tsubomi smiled. "Then I'd say we're cool." She held out her hand to help Chihiro up. The first year felt a shudder ripple through her as she took Tsubomi's hand. The older girl pulled her up with ease. Chihiro allowed her gaze to linger on Tsubomi a bit. Such soft looking hair, the color of _sakura_...Such intelligent topaz eyes...

"Tsubomi-senpai?" Chihiro realized she'd held on to the pinkette's hand too long and hastily withdrew it. "Do you think you might ever feel..._this way _for me?"

Tsubomi didn't lead the first year on. She said, "I'm very loyal to Yaya-chan. I don't see our relationship ending." Even though Tsubomi didn't feel affection for Chihiro, her heart broke at her crestfallen expression. She gave her shoulder a light friendly bop. "Cheer up, Chihiro-san. You'll move on. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but there will be other girls. Girls better than me."

Chihiro nodded sullenly. She followed Tsubomi out of the stairwell. "Um...Tsubomi-senpai, I know I called you a weakling. I didn't mean it."

The pinkette said naught, but smiled in response. An understanding had formed between them. They parted to tend to their duties.

---

"_What if I'm not the hero? What if I'm the bad guy?_"

Nagisa wasn't feeling so good. Here she was, drunkenly playing Edward to Tamao's Bella. She supposed, what with her slurring her words, that the alcohol got her a bit more in character. But it sure didn't make acting easier. And she wasn't in the mood to act with Tamao after she hit her.

After the shock and pain of the slap subsided, Nagisa was left with a frightening confusion. Tamao had always been gentle. Nagisa shook her head as she continued her banter. Tamao wasn't as gentle as she took her for. The redhead had seen the poet argue with Shizuma. She was not gentle. She was angry, but patient. It took a lot of pushing to get Tamao to her breaking point. What had Nagisa done tonight to break her?

_I treated Kaname-san like crap, but what's that to Tamao-chan? _Her head and limbs felt heavy, her stomach like a painfully throbbing brick. She was probably swaying on her feet, reciting her lines automatically, not listening to what Tamao said.

Okay, so Tamao wasn't perfect. Who was? And Nagisa knew she deserved a little smack every now and then. The poet only seemed really upset when Nagisa requested sake. Did the poet not like her when she was drunk...?

Nagisa flinched as her stomach reeled, and recited her next line.

"_If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could...couldn't...couldn't..._Ohhh uuurrrggghh..."

Moaning, Nagisa pitched forward queasily and threw up on stage. The audience was alive with _Ewww_'s.

Tamao blinked in shock. Then she crouched next to Nagisa, who was gasping on her knees, and said in a stage voice: "Oh, Edward-kun! This is what happens when you succumb to temptation and drink human blood." She hauled the redhead up gently. "Let's get you to the nurse's office..."

Tamao practically had to drag Nagisa off the stage. People in the audience whispered among themselves. Whispering crecendoed to talking until the auditorium clamored and rang with several conversations.

---

Yaya nodded at Momomi. "Now's your chance. Press that button and see what happens."

Momomi needed no second bidding. She pushed the cyan-colored button.

Now the audience cried out in surprise. Even Yaya squeaked and shielded her eyes. "What the---strobe lights?!" The rapidly flickering lights were making her dizzy. She clapped her hands over her eyes completely. "Momomi! Make them stop!"

Momomi hit the cyan button a second time, but it did nothing. The pair of them spent five minutes trying to turn off the strobe lights. Yaya muttered, "Damn it! What if someone has a seizure? This was such a dumb idea!"

Shion, the gaffer, burst into the projector room, roaring, "What are you doing?! You idiots! Turn off the strobe lights!"

"We're trying!" Momomi insisted.

The catastrophe escalated to disaster as they made desperate attempts to stop the flashing lights.

"Try this button..."

"No, all it does is move the spotlight."

"Will this lever work?"

"Uh-uh. It moves the stage lights."

"Uggh, the strobe lights are making me disoriented. I'm gonna lie down..."

"Get back here, Yaya-san! My eyes hurt, so let's both suck it up!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

I've only done acting once in my life. I was seven and the play was _The Legend of Sleeping Beauty_ and I had a VERY minor role. At school, I always work crew and tech for the fall plays and spring musicals. So I didn't have much to offer for thespian stories, but a lot to offer for techie stories. The strobe light incident is a true story; that was from when I was a freshman. The sex-in-the-prop-hall incident is a true story as well; that was from fall of last year.

NEXT CHAPTER: Oh noes, Tamao and Nagisa are fighting! Will they go to the beach as a couple, or will the fight be too much for them? Yaya meets Chihiro, and Hideshi (Nagisa's brother) needs to get a clue.


	18. The Rainbow and the Colorblind

Here's chapter eighteen. Took me a long time to write, but I'm finally satisfied with its outcome.

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**The Rainbow and the Colorblind**

To say that Tamao was angry with how the play went was the understatement of the year. After Nagisa threw up due to alcohol poisoning Suki and Hitomi (whom the poet thought were being too kind here) helped her to a couch to lay down. There was no understudy available for Edward Cullen, so they brought in the next best thing: Hikari. Poor Hikari was thrown on stage with Tamao to more or less improvise the rest of the play. It was a trainwreck. How awesome _The Great Gatsby _was last year did not equal how terrible _Twilight _was this year.

After the performance Nagisa shambled out to the lobby, leaning on Tamao. The poet supported her with her arm, but oddly Tamao didn't feel like taking care of her girlfriend. She remembered what she had said on the first day of school: "I want to spend the rest of my life with you." But what kind of life would Tamao have if she had to stand and wait for Nagisa to catch up? They wanted to go to college together, but Nagisa would never get into the University of Tokyo. But what if Tamao did? _I would be an idiot to pass up that opportunity, _thought the poet, _but there's my girlfriend…_She wordlessly considered Nagisa, who looked ready to fall asleep right there.

They came across spectators in the lobby who smiled and congratulated them on a job well done. But Tamao could tell that their sentiments were insincere and they actually didn't like the performance at all. And the poet couldn't blame them. She knew the _Twilight _play epically failed. It went so far beyond failing that it would take a billion years for the light from _fail _to reach the earth.

Eventually they encountered Aoi Hideshi. The red-haired boy was beside himself with excitement.

"You both were great!" he cheered. He almost tripped and fell, but righted himself. "Who knew you'd play a terrific Edward Cullen, Nagisa?"

Nagisa smiled sheepishly. "I was only in Act One, Hideshi."

Hideshi blinked. "Really?...I coulda swore I saw you in Acts Two and Three."

Tamao grimaced. She couldn't believe Hideshi couldn't tell Hikari from his sister.

Nagisa shook her head. "That was Konohana Hikari…You know, that blonde girl you flirted with at the Festival."

"Oh, yeah." Hideshi brightened. "I forgot to get her phone number. Excuse me a moment…" And he departed to find the Spican.

Tamao pulled Nagisa out of the auditorium and they headed for the dorms. Summer was here full force that night. The air was muggy and moist. Crickets sang and fireflies flickered merrily. The sun was just about to set, bathing the sky in a multitude of colors ranging from yellow to pink to violet to indigo. The forest smelled of pitch and loam.

"Is Hideshi-san retarded?" Tamao asked point blank.

"No," answered Nagisa, still holding on to the poet's arm. "He's just kind of…dense sometimes."

_It must run in the family. _Tamao began to wonder where Nagisa and Hideshi got their naïveté from.

The poet's humor was no better when they got back to their dorm. In fact, it was a little worse. She scowled at their bed (though technically it was Tamao's), reminded of the fact that _she _would have to rouse Nagisa in the morning. _And that's all I am to her, _she thought hopelessly. _A goddamn alarm clock._

"What's wrong, Tamao-chan?" Nagisa came up behind the poet and wrapped her arms around her.

Tamao pulled away and walked over to their window, away from Nagisa.

The redhead shrunk back a little. Oh no. Tamao was still mad. Nagisa didn't want to say anything lest she should get hit again, but she didn't want to not say anything. Okay, the play was a disaster because of Nagisa, but she never realized that Tamao felt so passionate about it anyway.

"Tamao-chan, I'm sorry about the play."

The poet looked up for she had been lost in thought gazing out the window. "The play?...You think I'm upset over the _play?_"

By the tone of her voice, Nagisa could tell that the play was not the issue. She backtracked a little. "Well, no. It's just I---"

"You don't get it, do you? You never will." Tamao turned to face the redhead, but didn't approach her.

Nagisa was beginning to get frightened. What did Tamao want? She just wanted the poet to be happy, but Nagisa needed at least one little hint of how to make that happen.

"I'm…sorry about getting drunk…?"

"Nice guess, but you're wrong. Nagisa," Tamao sighed, opening her desk drawer and pulling out a notebook, "how do you feel about me anyway?"

"I love you, Tamao. I really do. You're my best friend and so much more. B-but I wish you would stop being so cryptic and roundabout and just tell me what's wrong!"

"I guess I figured you'd be intuitive enough to figure out what's wrong on your own." Tamao was shaking her head, flipping through her notebook. "But that's you, isn't it? You can't do _anything _on your own. I've gotta do everything for you."

"Y-you said you l-liked t-t-taking care of people…"

"I do. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to do things for you that you could very well do on your own…That is, if you could bother to make the effort…Why _do _you love me anyways?"

Nagisa was getting so frustrated she was afraid that _she _would slap _Tamao. _"We made a list, remember?"

Tamao shook her head. "No, no, no. I mean, when did you stop seeing me as a friend and start seeing me as a girlfriend? Why, Nagisa?"

"I --- I don't know!" Why the hell was Tamao doing this? The red head thought a moment before stuttering, "I suppose…I fell in love with you after Shizuma broke off our letters. I was sad, but I realized that Shizuma was unreliable and inconsistent, but you were not."

"So…" Tamao appeared to have found what she was looking for in her notebook; she stopped turning the pages. "…I'm nothing more than a placeholder for Shizuma?"

"What?! No! I didn't mean---"

"You don't even know how hard I fell for you!" Tamao was no longer calm. She advanced angrily upon Nagisa. "I was here, giving and giving to you. And you just take from me and never give back!" She thrust the notebook out at the redhead. "This was for _you! _I brought you to Literature Club with me to hear this because _it was for you!_"

The poet's eyes teared up as Nagisa accepted the notebook. She read Tamao's neat scripture --- it was her poem about the rainbow. The redhead's eyes widened. That distant spring day was coming back to her with such a force that Nagisa felt as if she were living that day right now.

_"Excellent work, Suzumi-san," the sponsor was saying. "It seems you have an unrequited love. Yet you keep reaching for it."_

_"Read it again!" a girl pipes up._

"Unrequited love…" Nagisa whispered. Her hands shook, causing the paper in the notebook to rattle. She could feel tears stinging her own eyes. This whole time Tamao had been trying to tell her --- right from day one. It all fit: the tape measure, the poem, watching her while she slept, all those comments about how cute she was. Nagisa now understood where Tamao was coming from, and she understood it all too well. _I kept letting her down, over and over. How could I be so stupid?_

Tamao snatched the notebook from her and tore the poem out. "This was a waste of paper. It was a waste of ink. Worst of all, it was a waste of my feelings. _You _are a waste of my feelings." Thoroughly disgusted with herself and the redhead, Tamao tore the poem in half.

Nagisa gasped and lunged forward. "Tamao---" But it was too late. What's done is done.

Tamao continued to rip up the poem, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You didn't care about me. Look at you. You still don't care." The poet threw the shreds of paper in the air; they fluttered past Nagisa's dejected face.

"Honestly. It's like dealing with an impertinent child," Tamao grunted as she stormed past Nagisa. Behind her, the redhead heard the door creak open. Without turning, Nagisa asked, "Where are you going?"

But all she heard was the door slam.

The redhead sighed and knelt among the shredded paper. "I wish you hadn't done that, Tamao," she mumbled, picking the shreds up. "This was a good poem…" In the silence that followed Nagisa wondered if Tamao would come back. She hoped so; she had so much she needed to tell the poet, chief among them that Tamao WAS NOT her second choice.

Once it seemed that all the shreds were collected, Nagisa set them on her desk. Out of prayer that Tamao would come back, the redhead stayed up a bit, occupying herself by piecing together the poem.

---

Meanwhile on the third floor, two Spicans were preparing to turn in and relating their techie experiences that night.

"Well, Act One was already a disaster," said Yaya, pulling on her night shirt, "so I figured why not see what that button does? So I had Momomi-san press it, and these strobe lights went off!"

"Shion-san just about flipped her wig over that," Hikari commented.

"Did she ever! I thought she'd blow every capillary in her body!" The brunette shook her head at the unpleasant memory. "She, Momomi, and I spent ten minutes among flashing lights trying to turn them off. In the end, Shion-san had to shut off the whole control board and restart it. That's why the auditorium was pitch black for, like, three minutes."

Hikari whistled. "Trouble, trouble, trouble."

"Yeah. This had to be the worst a play has ever gone." Yaya stretched her arms behind her head. If she brought them loosely around her waist, it almost felt a little like holding Tsubomi. The raven-haired girl was now just realizing how long it had been since they last had sex (almost two months, the last time was May 16) and how desperately she needed to sleep with the pinkette. It was making her a little crazy. "What did _you _do backstage?"

The blonde girl stiffened, remembering Tamao and Hitomi's faces. "Nothing," she answered quickly. "Nothing at all."

"Oh…Um, okay."

A light knock sounded on the door. It was such a gentle rap that neither Yaya nor Hikari heard it. Then Tamao's voice piped up: "_Onegai_, Yaya-chan. Hikari-chan. Open up, please."

The two Spicans looked at each other curiously. What was Tamao doing here? Was this an impromptu tea party? Was she going to confront Hikari for sleeping with Amane in the prop hall? Or was she going to confront Yaya about the strobe lights?

While Hikari pondered all these possibilities her raven-haired friend stepped forward to open the door. With a choking sob, Tamao threw her arms around Yaya and drenched her night shirt with tears. Wide-eyed and confused, Yaya tentatively brought her arms around the poet. The fifth year turned her head toward Hikari, who shrugged.

As Yaya reached over to shut the door with one hand Tamao bawled, "I broke up with Nagisa!"

Now Hikari's eyes widened. "Why? You love her."

Tamao cried harder and Yaya gave the blonde a disapproving glance. She pulled the blue-haired girl toward her bed and sat her down. "Tell me what happened."

"She…She…I don't know, she's just a lug! A burden!" Tamao hiccupped. "She doesn't love me! She just replaced Shizuma with me!" She paused, wondering if Nagisa had thought about Shizuma all those times they made love. That thought just prompted more tears. Tamao buried her face in her hands and sobbed brokenly.

Yaya blinked. She didn't know what to say. She knew Tamao wasn't telling the whole story --- in her shaken state, the fifth year couldn't expect her to. Though what Hikari had said was inappropriate, it was true. Tamao was the girl least likely to break up with someone for she was devoted, intensely so, and loved with her heart and soul.

"Would you…like to stay here tonight?"

"Could I please?" the poet whimpered.

Yaya smiled. "Of course you can."

"Where would she sleep?" Hikari asked softly.

Without looking at her best friend, Yaya responded, "She can take my bed, and we'll share your bed."

Tamao sniffled, and seemed to stop crying. She leaned her head on Yaya's and said, "_Domo arigatou_, Yaya-chan. _Domo arigatou_."

"You're welcome. I always said I'd pay you back for your…favor."

The poet blushed.

---

If this incident had occurred when Yaya was a third year, she would have been enthralled to share a bed with Hikari. But now it just felt wrong. She was with Tsubomi, and the pinkette would have blown her stack if she knew Yaya was doing this. But what was Yaya supposed to do when faced with her crying senpai and friend? Turn her away? Say, "Tough shit, Suzumi. Go to someone else's room" ?

Neither her nor Hikari was able to sleep. So they just laid in bed, staring at each other. Nearby, on Yaya's bed, laid Tamao. Her hair was down, but she still wore her yukata. She had left her pajamas in hers and Nagisa's room, and she seemed adamant in terms of undressing in front of Yaya. Hikari blinked. There was something odd about Yaya and Tamao, the way they interacted. They were an unusual mix of comfortable and cautious when they were together.

"Yaya-chan," Hikari whispered. "What do you think happened between Tamao-chan and Nagisa-chan?"

The brunette shushed her, then looked over at the poet. "She might still be awake. We should wait until tomorrow to talk about this."

"Okay."

Silence among them. Outside, the wind stirred the trees, heralding a midnight summer storm. A creak sounded as the dormitory settled. Tamao's breathing came more slowly. Convinced that she was asleep, Hikari prodded Yaya for more information.

"What favor were you talking about earlier? Did you mean that time you, erm, kissed me and stayed in Tamao-chan's dorm?"

"Yes," Yaya lied.

This answer seemed to satisfy Hikari. Sighing, Yaya pulled the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes.

"You and Tamao-chan are pretty close, aren't you?"

Yaya opened her eyes, feigning annoyance. But truthfully, she was just plain freaked. The subject of Suzumi Tamao was not a comfortable one to Nanto Yaya.

"We were in band and choir together when we were younger. Before you transferred here. We were friends."

"Tamao-chan was in choir?"

The brunette nodded. "She sang alto. But she quit after her second year when she started getting seasonal bronchitis."

Hikari rolled onto her back, taking it all in. Yaya seemed to be lying, hiding something. The blonde had never seen Tamao get bronchitis. Something else got her out of Saintly Chorus. Something perhaps _pushed _her. Maybe a social situation that had become too much for Tamao to deal with…?

Was this a secret between Yaya and Tamao? Or did Yaya not know why the poet really quit? What happened?

"Did you and Tamao-chan…you know, go out?"

But Yaya had fallen asleep.

---

The gates, food court, and baggage claim shot past Tamao in a blur as she flew through the air port at lightning speed. She assumed she was running, but there was no way she could run this fast, despite her experience in softball. Nonetheless she passed security and customs with a speed common in roadrunners.

"I have to get home," she said to herself. "I have to get home before Dad---"

_Why am I taking a plane? Harajuku's only a short train ride from Osaka._

Somehow, Tamao immediately found the gate to take her to the airliner going to Harajuku. She was about to board when…

"Tamao-chan!"

She whirled around to see Nagisa. The sight of the redhead alone was enough to break her heart. Nagisa was in her winter uniform, holding out her hands imploringly. Tamao couldn't hear what she was saying, yet she automatically knew that Nagisa had lost her plane ticket and wanted Tamao's help.

"No!" Tamao cried. She turned back around, but the plane had departed.

"Dad! No!"

The next thing Tamao knew she was in a garishly colored funeral home, staring into Arashi's open casket. He lay in his tattered T shirt, his eyes closed, his face still. Tamao began crying.

Looking around, she saw Nobuyuki, her mother, arguing with a client on her cell phone. She also saw Yaya, a twelve-year-old version of her. The little brunette wore her Spica marching uniform and carried her brass trombone, which was too big and heavy for her.

"It's kind of sad," Yaya shrugged. "Just a little."

Tamao looked back at her father and realized he wasn't wearing his glasses. At that same instant Arashi's amethyst eyes popped open and he inquired, "Do you dream about this stuff often?"

---

Tamao sat bolt upright in Yaya's bed, startled awake. Her heart was pounding fast. Her yukata clung to her sweaty body. Outside, she heard sheets of rain pattering the cement path and slapping the window, as well as the occasional crack of thunder. She looked over at Hikari's bed. Hikari slept soundly, laying on her side facing away from Tamao. Yaya lay on her back, writhing in some dream.

"Tsubomi…"

Shuddering, Tamao turned away. She considered the clock; it had only been an hour and a half since Yaya turned off the lights.

---

Last night's rain brought a thick humidity to that early July day. Tendrils of steam rose from the trees and bushes. Tsubomi could smell the heat, the cleanliness of things. Seeing as it was so hot and moist, she didn't WANT to wear her choir robe, but she had to for class. It was pointless, really --- the beach trip was in a couple days, so naturally the choir director had no rehearsal planned. The choirgirls stood around the cathedral hall chatting.

"Auu! I can't stand to wear this robe another minute!" Hikari cried.

Tsubomi wrinkled her nose. "It's not so bad."

"Yeah, right!" Yaya laughed. Her laughter echoed harshly in the cathedral hall and some girls flinched. "I can see steam rising from your collar, Tsubomi! Are you cooking rice in there?"

The pinkette snorted and puffed out her cheeks. "I'll have you know that I am a proud member of the Saintly Chorus and even if it's a million degrees outside I will gladly and willingly wear this robe!"

"Tsubomi, we all know that the instant Takahashi-sensei gives the word you'd tear off that robe!" Yaya removed her cap and fanned herself with it. "It sucks, too, when they make us switch to the winter uniform in September, when it's still hot out."

"Yeah," Hikari agreed. "Or when Spica makes us switch to the summer uniform in April, when it's still cold out."

"We should be allowed to wear whichever uniform we want, according to the weather."

"That wouldn't be exercising good uniformity," Tsubomi coughed.

Yaya sighed wistfully, fanning away. Then she put her cap back on and asked, "How was the middle school play?"

The pinkette grunted. "Ehh…"

Yaya's gaze drifted between Hikari and Tsubomi. "Hm. Apparently NO ONE wants to talk about the Drama Festival."

"…What?" Hikari asked for she had spaced out.

"It wasn't bad," Tsubomi sighed. "It's just that…I told you about that first year who always gave me crap."

Yaya nodded. "What was her name? Chiharu?"

"Chihiro," the pinkette corrected.

"I was close enough."

"Anyway…" Tsubomi started laughing. "You won't believe why she does this…" Giggling, she pulled Yaya and Hikari closer so she could whisper to them. She told her senpais about her confrontation with the petulant kouhai, Chihiro's confession, and then the stairwell chat. When the fifth years pulled back Yaya boomed with laughter.

"Ohohoho! That's rich! Hahahaha! Beautiful!" The brunette was in stitches. Her laughter rang in the cathedral hall. "So does she call you 'oneesama'? Please, please tell me she calls you 'oneesama.' That'd be perfect. 'I like you lots, Tsubomi-oneesama.' Hah!" She began to sing: "_Chihiro and Tsubomi sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N ---_Ouch!!" She rubbed the back of her head. "What was that for?"

"Don't go shouting this around, stupid!" Tsubomi hissed. "I don't even know if Chihiro-chan would've approved of me telling you two!"

"Isn't she _in _Saintly Chorus?"

"She is," said Hikari. "She's in the soprano section."

"Does she suck?" Yaya grinned. "Is she a horrible singer?"

The blonde shrugged. "I've never heard her sing on her own…"

As they always said in ancient times, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." In true attack-of-the-first-year fashion, Chihiro came bounding up to Hikari. She held too scores in her hands.

"Konohana-senpai, I've been looking all over for you." The blue-haired first year handed Hikari one of the score books. "After summer break Takahashi-sensei wants us to start on the piece 'The Water is Wide.'"

"Ah. _Arigatou, _Kimura-chan."

"Don't mention it," Chihiro smiled.

"I don't suppose there's an alto part?" Tsubomi asked.

Chihiro started. She whirled around to face the pinkette. Her brown eyes swam and a pink blush dashed her cheeks. Her sweaty hands clutched the sheet music. "U-um, possibly…You'd have to --- to talk with w-with Takahashi-sensei to g-g-get it."

Yaya smirked. "You sure get nervous around Tsubomi, don't you?"

Chihiro shot the brunette a haughty glare. "No! What gave you that impression?"

"You tied your sheet music in a knot."

Embarrassed, the first year threw down the folded book before Tsubomi could see it. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm going through…um, family issues…" _God, I suck at lying. _"…and it's made me tense."

"Well," Yaya sniffed, "I can tell you that Tsubomi is good at relieving tension…No matter where that tension is centered."

"Yaya-senpai," the pinkette warned.

The brunette threw her arms around Tsubomi and nuzzled her fiercely, all the while leering at poor Chihiro. The first year watched the spectacle with a mix of anger, sorrow, and longing. She wanted to be the one to hold Tsubomi. Meanwhile, the pinkette was beside herself with rage. She tried to push Yaya off, growling, "Let go of me, _baka_!"

"Oh, you love it. I know you do." Yaya pinched Tsubomi's cheeks and cooed in a baby voice, "You just love to be Yaya-senpai's glomptoy!"

The baby voice…Glomptoy…It was so un-Yaya. Tsubomi knew that the brunette was only dangling her in front of Chihiro, but nonetheless she disapproved of it. Girls were staring. This was exactly why Tsubomi hated public displays of affection.

"She said 'let go'!" Chihiro roared.

Yaya pulled back and gave the first year only the briefest of glances. But when she looked at Tsubomi she knew that her girlfriend had meant it.

"Alright, then," she sighed, releasing Tsubomi. "Hey. That beach trip is soon, and I'll get to hit this all I want!"

"Yaya-senpai!"

"What?"

---

As was the nature of all of Yaya and Tsubomi's disputes, they were resolved rather quickly. All it took was some sweet talk from Yaya, a sarcastic joke from Tsubomi, and a dumb-blonde moment from Hikari and all was well again for the couple. They were laughing and joking around as usual as they stepped out of the cathedral.

Yaya gave a cry as the heat hit her. "Agh! So hot! I'm taking off this damn robe!" As she did so she remarked, "You must be dying, what with that sweater you wear all year round."

"Aw, c'mon. You're, like, the tenth person to make fun of this sweater," protested Tsubomi. "Look. It's a cashmere sweater. Cashmere's pretty light compared to, say, wool. And I look good in a sweater."

"So did Jane Mansfield," the brunette grinned.

Ignoring the perverted comment, Tsubomi pulled off her robe and cap. Yaya burst into hysterical laughter. Two glorious pit-stains to end all pit-stains extended from under the pinkette's arms down to her waist.

"Oh my God! Hahahahohohohee! Your panties must be like a bucket, huh? Hahahaha!"

Tsubomi sheepishly pinned her arms to her sides. "Okay, okay. Point taken. I'll start wearing the damn summer uniform."

"There ya go!" Yaya clapped a hand on her damp back. "Exercise good uniformity!"

Chiyo walked past them, on her way to the Miator library. She greeted them both. When she got to Tsubomi she asked, "Hey, Okuwaka, did they set up a treadmill in the cathedral?"

---

Kagome was pleasantly surprised that afternoon. To beat the July heat the Lulim third year had retreated back to Strawberry Dorms to take her lunch. She'd invited Chiyo to join her. The librarian had accepted her invitation, said that she would go straight to Kagome's dorm as soon as she got off library duty.

Seeing as Chiyo was not there yet when she arrived Kagome decided to check her mail. At first it was just the usual: offers of summer courses from presitigious universities, a notice from Lulim concerning the beach trip (it was just a reminder to keep your body sun-safe), etcetera. But then, tucked away between this month's _Rolling Stone _magazine and the _New Yorker_, was an envelope with the name Byakugan Rumiko written in the return address.

Kagome blinked, and her green eyes widened a bit. Her mother never wrote her. It wasn't out of meanness or laziness or negligence. Kagome knew that her mom was just scared that any contact would breech the subject of…

The Lulim girl shook her head, banishing those thoughts from it. She bore her mail to her dorm where she could read the letter in private.

Kagome grunted. Some letter. It used a fourth of a sheet of paper and was only a paragraph long. Worst of all: Kagome got the impression that Rumiko had checked off a list of questions to ask her daughter.

_Dear Kagome,_

_Hello, it's your mother. A friend from church mentioned you yesterday, so I thought I should write you. How is Lulim? How are your friends Kizuna and Remon? How is Chiyo? I got your grade report, and I'm proud to see you're still doing well. I miss you. I'm looking forward to when you come home this summer._

_Love,_

_Mom_

What horrible timing. If Kagome wrote and sent a reply it would arrive at Rumiko's house after the Lulim girl arrived home. Kagome was an only child. She had never known her father. Byakugan Kousuke had committed suicide before she was born. Rumiko had been left to deliver and raise wee Kagome all on her own. Kagome knew nothing of Kousuke's personality, but she knew what he had looked like. She had a photograph of him sitting on a park bench and smiling on her night stand. He had been short for a man, thin and wiry, with neatly cropped curly brown hair and a sleepy look in his emeraldescent eyes.

_Rumiko never talks about Kousuke, does she? _Pashibaru asked.

"No," sighed Kagome. "She doesn't like to." Once when she was twelve she had asked her mom about Kousuke. Rumiko had dodged the question and retreated to her study. "I want to learn about Kousuke, though."

_How do you intend to do that? _The bear sounded dubious.

"I don't think Mom's erased his memory completely. There's got to be old photos and such in the house." A look of determination crossed Kagome's face. "I will learn about my father this summer. That's my goal."

_And a smashing goal that is, _Pashibaru said approvingly. _Rumiko shouldn't be too opposed to it. After all, you're his daughter._

Chiyo arrived then, and the two girls and the bear had lunch. Kagome told her girlfriend about her summer goal, and Chiyo nodded understandingly and offered encouragement. She knew about what had happened to Kousuke.

Kagome wondered about Kousuke and she wondered about her mother. Tragedy brought some families together, maybe, but not hers. Her mother never talked about what happened. She never talked about the things that might lead to talking about what happened. There were so many things they couldn't talk about, they had stopped trying to talk about much of anything.

She pictured Rumiko, when she wasn't at work, sitting in her study, wearing her earphones tuned to This Japanese Life. She never played the radio to the whole room, even when she was alone.

After they gave up on talking to each other, Kagome spent her time in front of the computer. She visited message boards and forums. She spent more time interacting with strangers than with her mother. She sometimes forgot that she lived in the same house as Rumiko, let alone that they were mother and daughter.

It was sad. She knew it was. She wondered if maybe she could've held on to her better, her mother. Maybe if she'd tried hard enough Kagome could've kept them feeling like a family and kept her home feeling like a home. Instead they seemed to float out from under the roof, off into the stratosphere, farther and farther apart, orbiting nothing.

* * *

NEXT CHAPTER: The beach trip! Yaya and Tsubomi intervene with Nagisa and Tamao, Remon feels left out, and Kagome looks more deeply into herself, her mother, Kousuke, and Chiyo.


	19. Ghost Town

Here's chapter nineteen.

Ugh, I personally think this chapter's a disaster and a half. When I finished writing it, I just sat and stared at the paper on my desk, wondering if I'd just written a chapter or a bunch of nonsense. But here it is.

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Ghost Town**

Kagome sat on the Coach bus that rapidly sped down the highway to the beach. Next to her Chiyo dozed on her shoulder, the Lulim girl's hand clutched in a dream-induced grip. Pashibaru sat on her lap. She could feel his tranquility; she even picked up on a few daydreams the bear was having. Whether Pashibaru ever slept Kagome never knew, and he wouldn't tell her.

The dotted lane divider flickered by like the slides on a movie reel. Green, blue, and brown signs came and went in a matter of seconds. The bus went smoothly, unlike Kagome's mother's Honda --- but then, Rumiko was a nervous driver, inclined toward slamming her foot on the brake pedal and accelerator. With her head jerking back and forth, driving with Rumiko made Kagome a little sick.

Kagome stared out past the occasional tree flitting by. Ever since she had vowed to learn about Byakudan Kousuke she couldn't stop thinking about him. She wondered about his personality, his career, and his relationship with Rumiko. She wondered why he married her. She wondered if she could gauge his personality type based on his suicide. Was he the strong, silent type who had fallen on hard times? Or had he always struggled with his life?

For a moment Kagome considered the possibility of Kousuke committing suicide because of her. That caused a sharp ache to stab her sternum.

She glared out the window, forcing the pain into the dark recesses of her mind. She knew it would resurface throughout her search for Kousuke. But she had to be strong. Rumiko wasn't going to be strong, so Kagome had to be. Yes, she would be strong for her mother. She was going to learn about Kousuke.

"I will learn about my father," Kagome said out loud to the totaled carcass of a deer the bus passed. Saying it out loud filled her with determination. Suddenly she couldn't sit still. It felt so good to say that, so she said it again.

"I'm going to learn about Dad."

---

Even though Tamao and Nagisa were no longer speaking to each other, their beach house room assignment couldn't be changed. When they arrived at the beach they sullenly dragged their duffel bags to separate beds to unpack.

Without turning her head or moving, Tamao swung her gaze over to Nagisa. The redhead started and nervously averted her stare.

"Subtle," the poet felt like remarking sarcastically. Then she remembered that she wasn't talking to Nagisa. That was what hurt the most. Wanting fervently to say something to her, and then Tamao remembered that she couldn't.

It was like a competition, a challenge. Who could hold her silence longer? Tamao had hated grudges --- she believed that they only hurt the people holding them. It wasn't pride or fear that was keeping the poet quiet. It was knowledge. It was a certainty that nothing she'd say would make Nagisa understand.

This vacation was going to suck.

Tamao had noticed, though, on the bus that Nagisa wasn't looking so good. Her skin seemed paler, almost grey, and translucent. Bruised-looking bags puddled under her dim scarlet eyes. The redhead looked like death warmed over. Was this because of Tamao?

The poet resisted the impulse to snort. Nagisa couldn't do anything without her. Now she couldn't even sleep without Tamao. Ever since their fight Tamao had stayed with Yaya and Hikari and had slept like a lamb. There were some odd dreams and such, but she still got her needed eight hours of sleep.

_Am I evil or just independent? _Was Tamao supposed to be sleep-deprived over this?

Turning, she saw that Nagisa had collapsed on her bed and fell asleep. Tamao breathed a sigh of relief. At last, the redhead was sleeping and the poet could feel a bit less guilty. She left the redhead to doze and slipped out to walk on the beach.

She took a few steps out, and automatically knew she'd get sand in her shoes. She paused to take them off. The hot sand burned her bare feet, and Tamao hopped and danced along the shore a bit. She knew she looked ridiculous. _If only Nagisa-chan could see me now, _she thought. _But then, Nagisa-chan would look even funnier. _She laughed.

When her laughter had died down Tamao realized how badly she missed the quirky-perky redhead. Nagisa was high-maintenance, yes, but she was also fun. She was always livening things up, even when she was trying to be serious. After Tamao found out her father had cancer Nagisa had tried to cheer her up by making her lemon tart, the poet's favorite dessert. But as Tamao sat there in a funk, sobbing into her handkerchief, Nagisa strode in with the tart, tripped over her math book, and fell with her face in the tart. The redhead was a hilarious sight, her face slathered with meringue and tart, spitting out powdered sugar, a decorative slice of lemon in her hair. She had cried about trying to make Tamao feel better, not realizing that her blunder _had _made the poet feel better.

_Maybe she does care, _thought Tamao, staring reflectively at a little pink shell. _She remembered my favorite dessert. Maybe I was wrong._

But would Nagisa forgive her for slapping her and calling her an idiot on top of that? That sort of interaction worked for Yaya and Tsubomi, but that was their thing. To use such a harsh word on Nagisa was horrible.

Maybe love could turn into friendship. No one said they had to forget about each other when the romance was over. Blood was thicker than water, but friendship was thicker than both.

---

"Tamao-chan!"

The poet stopped dead in her tracks. She knew that voice. How could she not? A dull ache pounded her heart as she greeted, "Yaya-chan." It was the first she had spoken all day.

The brunette came bounding up to her, grinning as usual. She wore a fitted brown T shirt and her black bikini bottom. Yaya was in an energetic mood, that was evident. She practically danced where she stood as she made light banter with the poet.

Tamao suppressed a grimace. _How can you make such light banter after everything we've been through?_

Yaya caught on to Tamao's silence and suddenly turned very solemn. She noticed the poet's searching glance over Yaya's shoulder. The brunette said softly, "Hikari-chan's with Amane-senpai. And Tsubomi's hiding away in our room --- m-mine and hers, that is."

Tamao blinked. "Why?"

Yaya sighed. "Tamao-chan --- I mean, Tamao-senpai --- I mean---" She stopped herself. "I was reckless back then. That's why. But I've changed---"

"No. Stop." The poet's face was extremely pained. She held her queasy stomach. "I mean, why is Tsubomi-chan hiding?" Her voice was strained.

"Oh. Oh!" Suddenly Yaya felt silly. "She just got her nose-cast removed. Her nose healed crooked, and she's kind of ashamed of it." She couldn't bear to look at Tamao's hurt face in 2005, and she couldn't bear to look at it now.

"She shouldn't be," said the poet. "She's got a cute little face. Nothing could make her ugly."

Tamao's head hurt. Her dreams had revolved around Nagisa, yes, but Yaya had made some appearances of her own. Not fifteen-year-old Yaya now, not the Yaya who was quick-witted and funny. It was twelve-year-old Yaya who appeared in her dreams. The Yaya who was single-mindedly determined to the point of destroying everything in her path to get what she wanted. Especially when it came to Tamao.

And certainly a lot of things had been destroyed between Yaya and Tamao.

"Why are you still in your uniform?" The brunette was trying to change the subject. Her voice wavered nervously. "It's too hot for that Miator garb."

"I, um, never got a chance to change out of it…"

Tamao wanted to cry for Yaya. The poor girl had made herself open to a friendship with the poet. Yaya wanted to rewind, erase that old stuff, and start over, She wanted desperately to forget what happened and move on. But there were demons --- ghosts --- that could not just be swept under the rug and forgotten.

Tamao felt regret and she also felt ashamed. She was only thirteen back then, but she had still been a senpai to Yaya's kouhai: Yaya shouldn't know any better, but Tamao was expected to. And she did. She knew way better than to do what she had done.

_Why did I do it? _she wondered.

_Because Yaya was cute and you liked her and you were willing to break marching band regulations just to be with her._

Tamao looked at Yaya with a mix of anger and sorrow. _Too bad you came to Astraea Hill. Otherwise I could still be in band and choir._

---

It was a sweltering day back at Astraea Hill. It was too hot, Kizuna thought, to be sitting in a stuffy conference room signing letters and contracts. This was the day to play at the beach. Kizuna sighed. Well, Chikaru had warned her and Remon that being Étoile was a tremendous responsibility. But obstinate Kizuna pressed on to compete for the position out of love for Remon and for Lulim.

Remon was currently out submitting some signed thingamajiggers to the counselors' office.

In the Étoile position, one could either be the premier (the first) or the cadette (the younger sister). Étoile premier and Étoile cadette were usually determined by age: the older of the two was premier. And since Remon's birthday was in May of 1994 and Kizuna's was in January of 1995 that made Remon the premier. That cracked people up because Kizuna's strong, willful personality could dominate Remon's shy, nervous temperament any day. But then, Remon was more responsible. Of the two, she made the better leader.

Kizuna thought about Kagome. She was unusually feisty the day she left for the beach. Kagome had seized Kizuna in a tight hug and told her that she would learn about Kousuke. Having lost a parent herself (her mother to cervical cancer), Kizuna understood this was serious stuff. Especially since it was Kagome.

"How's it going?" Remon inquired, entering the conference room.

"I'm dying a slow death here, Remon-chan. Just letting you know."

Remon laughed. Kizuna was funny when she put on her drama queen act. She took a seat next to her girlfriend and proceeded to sign the letters. She noticed that the more she signed her name, the looser and sloppier her signature became. Right now she signed "Ntsum Rmn" to a letter concerning graduation. Kizuna's signature was more deliberate and careful.

"How was the counselors' office?" the cadette asked stiffly.

Remon jerked her head up for she had a tendency to space out when signing things. "It was good," she said faintly.

"Really?"

"Okay, it was too hot and miserable for a walk."

Kizuna gave a sweet, hiccupy laugh. "I thought so."

Remon returned to signing things. _Natsume Remon, Natsume Remon, Natsume Remon. _Though the green-haired Étoile was tired of hearing Kizuna bitch and moan about their responsibilities, she herself never wanted to write her name ever again. She had grown tired of being called "Étoile-sama" as if she wasn't worth being called by name. She was sick of greeting every single person she encountered. She was fed up with making time for studying, homework, and student government stuff. Above all, she was tired of Harasaka Hitomi, the President of Lulim, constantly scrutinizing her and Kizuna's every action, romantic or otherwise. Hitomi had been relentless in trying to sculpt Remon and Kizuna into the perfect couple instead of letting them be themselves.

Chikaru had told them that one of the plusses of being Étoile is getting to spend more time with your partner. But really, Remon thought she and Kizuna had plenty of time to spend together. They had been room mates, for Pete's sake. Now they were spending time together --- filling out forms. They hardly ever talked anymore, let alone have any physical contact. And what about Kagome? Remon hardly ever got to see her anymore.

It struck her that being Étoile was nothing more than a choice between working beautifully and loving hideously.

---

"Tsubomi…?" Yaya murmured. Figuring perhaps the younger girl had fallen asleep (as she had a tendency to do so after having sex), she raised her head off Tsubomi's chest and looked at her. The pinkette had her head raised, her glazed topaz eyes shining questioningly. Yaya smiled. Tsubomi had never really given much to talking after lovemaking.

"Do you, um, know that your heart is arrhythmic?" As if to accent this, the brunette lowered her head back to Tsubomi's chest to listen to the weird heartbeat.

"No, I didn't notice," Tsubomi muttered, tipping her head back. Morning sunlight slanted through the blinds and warmed her face. Even though waiting two months to have sex had driven Tsubomi crazy --- and she suspected it had driven Yaya crazy as well --- the powerful orgasm she had had with her girlfriend was SO worth it. Now she felt so relieved and relaxed. "It would make sense, though, that my heart's arrhythmic."

"Why?"

"Well, heart and blood diseases run in my family. My grandfather died recently of a heart attack. And Akiko's anemic."

This was the weirdest post-sex conversation Tsubomi had ever had.

Yaya shifted so she could lay next to Tsubomi. The pinkette instinctively put her arms around her and pressed close to her. The feeling of Yaya's breasts nestled against hers was pure and simple heaven.

"Anemia?" Yaya blinked. "I've never heard of it."

Tsubomi shrugged. "All it is is iron deficiency in her blood," she said honestly. "Anemia can be mild or it can be severe, and fortunately Akiko's got the milder end of it. She gets kind of light-headed, dizzy, and tired sometimes. All she has to do is take some iron pills and she's fine."

The brunette nodded.

"My mother has hypertension and my father has diabetes," Tsubomi supplied. She didn't know why she had said that.

Yaya thought of Mr. Okuwaka, of her observation that the man was chubby and dilapidated. It came as no surprise to her that he was diabetic. It didn't make any sense to her, though, that Tsubomi's whole family would be sick and she would be healthy. Now the arrhythmia was raising serious concerns.

"Do you…think _you _might be sick?"

"Me? No," Tsubomi responded in her don't-be-ridiculous voice. "Several factors contribute to heart disease. I'd say the only one I've got is family history."

"What are the factors that contribute?"

"Why do you want to know this?"

"I'm---I'm worried, okay?!"

Tsubomi sighed. Given that Yaya admitting that she was worried was as rare as a vegetarian snake, she figured she may as well tell her. "Family history, diet, exercise, lifestyle, smoking, drinking, absence of a social network…People who are habitually impatient or angry are susceptible to heart disease."

"You're a pretty angry person. Sometimes I expect you to breathe fire."

"That would give me heartburn."

"That was not a funny joke."

"Ah shaddup, Yaya-senpai," Tsubomi growled. "It was funnier than your 'a brunette, a redhead, and a blonde go in for a job interview' joke."

"No, that joke was funny. Dumb blonde jokes are always funny. Heartburn is never funny."

"Dumb blonde jokes are sexist."

"They are not!"

"Oh, really?" Tsubomi made her wise eyebrows. "Have you ever heard a dumb blonde joke about a boy?"

"Yes, I have!...Um, um….How many blond boys does it take---"

"You're making that up off the top of your damn head. Admit it. Blonde jokes are sexist."

There followed a heated argument over whether blonde jokes were sexist, which turned into an argument about who was funnier. Several situations of them being not funny were brought up, including the time Yaya tried to get out of trouble with Sister Hamasaka by telling cafeteria food jokes.

"That was funny!" Yaya insisted.

"No, it was disgusting, and that was why you had to clean out the clock tower on top of your original punishment." Tsubomi shuddered at the joke, which had a total of twenty-five punchlines and counting.

_Why is it better to vomit than to eat food served in the cafeteria?_

_Vomit is always warm._

_You don't have to pay to vomit._

_They don't ration vomit._

_After you vomit, at least you know what you've eaten._

_Vomit is SUPPOSED to look like that._

To name a few…

Yaya sighed. "Whatever. Just…get it checked out over summer break."

Tsubomi was about to protest when she realized she was due for a physical anyways. "Okay."

---

Eventually the two of them put on their bathing suits and headed out to the beach. They went their separate ways: Yaya to organize a game of beach volleyball, Tsubomi to collect shells. Shells never really interested her, but it was better than embarrassing herself in a game of volleyball. She made her way down the shore, occasionally bending over to toss a shell in her bucket. After she had gone out far enough along the shore, she circled back along the board walk. She was sort of in her own world when she noticed a familiar redhead sitting alone on the board walk. She halted.

"Nagisa-senpai…?"

Nagisa's head jerked up and she twisted around. Her tired garnet eyes were dull and listless. She was cupping a pile of paper shreds in her hands.

She offered up a watery smile. "Hi, Tsubomi-chan." She blinked. "You're actually just the person I wanted to see. Do you have Scotch tape?"

Tsubomi put her hand on her hip. "Do you seriously think I'd bring tape to the beach?"

"You held a memorial service for your laptop. Of course you've brought tape."

The kouhai blinked in shock. Since when had Nagisa become so vicious? You know you're having a bad day when Nagisa beats you in an argument. The redhead was unusually grouchy. And Tsubomi did have Scotch tape, so she invited Nagisa to her room.

"What is that?" Tsubomi inquired, indicating the shreds.

"A poem Tamao wrote for me," Nagisa responded miserably. "She and I are, um…"

"Fighting?" Tsubomi supplied.

The redhead nodded stiffly.

"And you ripped up her poem?"

"SHE ripped up her poem," Nagisa corrected with a glare. "She thought I didn't appreciate it. So she ripped it up."

"But you do appreciate it."

"I do. I wouldn't be taping it back together if I didn't." Nagisa sighed. "It seems like the right thing to do. But hardly anything I do seems to satisfy Tamao these days."

"No wonder," Tsubomi snorted.

Nagisa looked at her sharply. "_Nani?_"

"You copy her homework. You depend on her to tutor you in French when it's convenient for you." The pinkette shrugged. "Tamao-senpai's just looking for something in return."

"Like what?"

"You could write a poem for her."

Nagisa blinked. That was actually a great idea, she thought. She didn't know why she didn't think of that. Tamao would be so touched to receive an apologetic poem from her. The redhead frowned.

"I'm not much of a poet."

"Doesn't matter. She'll appreciate the thought."

"Alright," Nagisa sighed. "I'll do it."

* * *

Oh, boy. Nagisa's going to write a poem for Tamao! This ought to be good. Well, seeing as I'm a horrible poet, I'm leaving it up to you --- yes, you the reader --- to suggest lines for a lame poem. It's a bad poetry contest! Whatever you suggest will most likely appear in chapter twenty. I'm awarding points for corny metaphors, bad rhyming, and sappy lovelines. Remember: it has to be apologetic. It can be original, or it can be something you've read or heard. Just write it in a review and I'll use it.

Have fun! Happy rhyming!

NEXT CHAPTER: Remon tries to reconnect with Kizuna, Nagisa takes on the poetic views of Robert Frost or Langston Hughes (yeah right, she's more of a Dr. Seuss), Hikari presses to learn more about Tamao and Yaya, Miyuki makes plans, and the gang plays some softball!


	20. Brain Dead Poets Society

Aaaauuuuu! Writing this took foreveeeeerrrrrrr! And I think it's my longest chapter yet. (Writing fanfiction for me is like playing a video game, always trying to top my highest score lol.)

On an unrelated note, yesterday I began reading Stephen King's _Bag of Bones. _It's over 500 pages long, and I'm on page 95 or something. I really like it and recommend it. It's about a writer whose wife has died. That's all I've gotten out of it so far. I liked how he referenced Oscar Wilde's quote: "A writer is a person who has taught his/her mind to misbehave." So true...

Anyway, enough Stephen King blabber. On with the story! (There is a Stephen King reference in this chapter...)

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Brain Dead Poets Society**

Haruna Miyuki, formerly Rokujou Miyuki, was feeling horribly out of place at this family gathering at the Timpone's in Tokyo. Joining her arm with Mochiru's (her husband) and pressing closer to him did not give her peace of mind either. This was the Summer Fling, a deep-rooted tradition in the Rokujou and Haruna clans. First comes spring then comes Fling, and all that. This Fling was special because it celebrated Mochiru and Miyuki's marriage.

"Quite a turn-out, eh?" Mochiru murmured to his wife. "I wonder if we can find my mother..."

"Yeah, uh..." Miyuki trailed off, and sealed herself back in her space cadet world. She was missing out on some summer beach fun with her friends for this. Making stilted conversation with her parents, trying to avoid Mochiru's horny older brother Kentaro, and drinking. As liquored up as Miyuki was she couldn't shake that foggy feeling of being in a dream, observing this party at a distance.

"Yuki-chan!"

Miyuki looked up groggily. She was on her fourth glass of Vermouth and the room was moving. A portly guy with a prematurely receding hairline and a weird, patchy beard was approaching her and Mochiru.

Miyuki forced a smile, which is easier to do when you're plastered. "Hello, Kentaro-san."

"_Oussu!_" he greeted brightly, grinning. "Fancy running into you again."

"Yes. Just like at the punchbowl and the ladies room and the bar," the blue-haired woman said suspiciously. "We just keep 'randomly' bumping into each other."

Kentaro didn't seem to have heard what she just said. He turned to Mochiru. "Mother wants you up there to sing 'Blessed Assurance.'"

"Right now?" Mochiru asked. He was in church choir; he sang tenor.

His big brother shrugged. "More or less. The organist is ready when you are."

"Alrighty then." Mochiru, a handsome man with silver hair and green eyes, quaffed the rest of his wine, set the glass on a nearby caterer's tray, and hurried off to take the stage.

Kentaro smirked and folded his arms, his brown eyes gleaming. Miyuki realized he had very white teeth. _They must be fake, _she thought bitterly. He appeared to be waiting for her to say something. She said nothing.

"The Haruna clan is very big on traditions," he said at length.

Miyuki nodded stiffly and sipped her wine. The Rokujous and Harunas had been marrying each other for hundreds of generations. She was sure someone in there was marrying his cousin, but she and Mochiru were nothing to each other as far as she knew.

Kentaro said, "I don't suppose you know about the man-sleeping-with-his-younger-brother's-wife-for-one-night tradition?"

Miyuki scowled and walked away, in search of a relative she could make normal conversation with. Or another glass of wine. If Kentaro had tried to pull this bullshit on Shizuma, her silver-haired friend would have none of it. Shizuma would feed Kentaro his lunch. Miyuki laughed. If Kentaro was turned on by plain, simple Miyuki he would blow a gasket from looking at Shizuma --- who had that gorgeous silver hair, those smoldering celery-hued eyes, and, let's just say it, the best rack Miyuki had ever seen.

Miyuki shook her head and watched her husband sing "Blessed Assurance," his mother's favorite hymn. She liked his singing voice. She liked him. But it would take more than just liking somebody to make a marriage work.

_Does he know how hard I fell just to marry him? _Miyuki lived in Kyoto with Mochiru, but she couldn't attend Ninnian as she had wanted to. She had wanted to major in PreLaw.

"You would make an awesome lawyer," Shizuma had jokingly said once when they were third years. "You just _love _to argue."

Miyuki smiled. She knew she should have said, _I love to argue, yes, but moreover I love.........._

"...this wine," she finished out loud, helping herself to another glass.

---

Nagisa was feeling better. She had stayed a few nights with Yaya and Tsubomi. Seeing as the Spica couple was sharing one of the beds, it left the other one open for the redhead. Tsubomi had suggested that maybe Nagisa would write better poetry without Tamao around. At any rate, Nagisa was sleeping better. The extremely stupid arguments got on her nerves at first, but she learned to ignore them.

Today, however, she finally had some peace and quiet. Yaya and Tsubomi had gone to the beach (arguing about Tsubomi having to wear sun block on the way out). The redhead sat at Tsubomi's desk, a stack of paper in front of her, a wastebasket full of defective poems nearby. The window was open, admitting a salty breeze and the therapeutic sounds of the surf. As relaxing as it was, Nagisa just wasn't feeling the poetry today.

Around 1100 hours she got up to get a cup of tea from the kitchen. She remembered once seeing Tsubomi drink tea while she typed a formal lab report for Chemistry (this was a year ago). Maybe tea helped people write. However, they only had black tea available, and black tea made Nagisa think of Tamao. The poet always made the best black tea.

Nagisa stared at the notebook paper with its endless stretch of blue and pink lines. Paper was kind of intimidating once you thought about it.

Where to begin? How could she put her feelings in poetry? Nagisa hesitantly picked up her pen; it felt heavy in her hand. She wrote _I miss you, _and promptly withdrew her pen. She nodded; this was as good a place to start as any. _Now to find words that rhyme with "you". . . to . . . do . . . zoo . . . food . . . I wonder if there'll be cake for dessert tonight?_

Nagisa shook her head. _Don't think about cake. Think about Tamao-chan. _Nagisa wasn't sure if she had the right to call Tamao "chan." She picked up her pen again and wrote the second line. She frowned.

_I miss you  
I cannot live without you_

Another dud for the wastebasket. Nagisa sighed and rested her chin in her palms. _You idiot, _she told herself. _You can't rhyme "you" with "you."_

At 1300 hours approximately Yaya and Tsubomi came bhack, bickering as usual. This time they argued about Yaya stealing Tsubomi's clothes.

"The sweaters are the worst!" exclaimed the third year. "You always stretch them out!"

"I do not! _You're _the one who stretches them out!"

"How could I? They're a perfect fit for me, not those ginormous freakishly huge boobs of yours!"

Now it was an argument about whose breasts were bigger. Nagisa covered her ears. She was pretty sure Yaya and Tsubomi had forgotten she was here. Still, their screams got through to her ears.

"My boobs are no bigger than yours," said Yaya. "If anything, yours are probably bigger."

"They are not! I'm surprised yours don't make you tip and fall over!"

"You feeling smart, brat? Get a tape measure!"

"I'm not measuring my boobs!" Tsubomi's cheeks were red.

"Because you know that yours are bigger."

"No, because---_AAH!_"

Nagisa turned around in frustration, which melted away into amusement at the sight of Yaya and Tsubomi. The brunette was holding the struggling kouhai against her will with one arm, her other hand pulling up the back of her shirt.

"I wear a C cup," said Yaya. "I'm willing to bet you wear a C cup, even D."

"YOU'RE the one who wears a D cup, you pervert! Let go of me!" Tsubomi struggled and bucked against Yaya's arms, kicking her legs furiously. "I don't think you should do this in front of Nagisa-senpai!"

Nagisa laughed. This was like one of those middle school sleepovers where girls compare breasts, turned evil. _Only Yaya and Tsubomi_, she thought, shaking her head.

Tsubomi's struggling didn't make it easier for Yaya to access the tag on her bra. But somehow she did. Her brown eyes gleamed happily. Then she frowned.

"36B," she sighed, releasing Tsubomi.

"_Hentai! Baka yaro!_" Tsubomi tore away from Yaya, readjusting her shirt. "How dare you violate me in front of Nagisa-senpai and scream out my bra size! You disgust me!" And she sat down on their bed to sulk.

Nagisa sighed, and returned to her poem. An awesome line had just wormed its way into her head. She wrote: _When you leave my colors fade to gray._

_"Gomen nasai_," she could hear Yaya apologizing. "I was just goofing around."

"Everything's just a joke to you," Tsubomi mumbled.

"Oh, here we go again. 'Yaya-senpai's childish.' Well, you know what? You started it with that crack about my boobs!"

"We wouldn't be having that argument if you didn't steal my clothes!"

"Well, obviously. But now that what's done is done, what are you going to do about it? Why are we still fighting about this?"

"I...I don't know," Tsubomi practically whispered.

"You see? I don't know either," Yaya sighed.

Nagisa tapped her pen against the side of her head, trying to think of words that rhymed with "gray." _Hey . . . day . . . way . . . gray. Is there a difference between gray and grey?_

"I'm sorry I stole your clothes," said Yaya. "More like one article of clothing. I just took that red sweater, that's all...But whatever. I'll buy you a new one," she said brightly. "You can get, like, a zillion sweaters from Kohls for only two thousand yen."

"No, it's okay, you don't have to do that," Tsubomi said quickly. "It's just a sweater. I mean...You mean a lot more to me than a stupid sweater."

"Aww, you're sweet..."

_May . . . lay . . . ray . . .say . . . bay . . . gay. _Almost like reciting the French alphabet. Nagisa was really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Yaya and Tsubomi had gone quiet. Just as the redhead was wondering where their argument had gone her ears filled with light kissing sounds accompanied by a muffled groan from Yaya. Nagisa shut her eyes in annoyance and said, "Do you guys even know I'm here?"

Their kissing stopped abruptly and Tsubomi began frantically apologizing. "Ah! _Gomen nasai, _Nagisa-senpai! Sometimes Yaya-senpai can't keep it in her skirt, but that's no excuse. _Gomen nasai._"

Nagisa assured Tsubomi that it was okay, and wondered what "it" the pinkette was referring to.

"How's the poetry coming?" Yaya asked.

"Pretty good." Nagisa proudly presented her "poem" to the Spica couple. Yaya laughed, "It's only one line!"

Tsubomi began to sing: "_When you leave my colors fade to gray. Numa numa, hey. Numa numa numa, hey._" She thrust the poem back at Nagisa. "Be original, goddamn it! And if you can't, don't rip off a song a fat guy danced to on YouTube!"

Nagisa pouted. "And here I thought you were turning my terrific poem into a song..." She brightened. "Serenading Tamao-chan might be a good idea, _ne?"_

"With your singing voice?" Yaya shook her head. "You'll just make Tamao want to pull out a gun."

The redhead sighed and returned to the desk. "Okay, choirgirls are officially mean people..."

"Babe, you know I di'int mean it."

There was a knock on the door. At an indication from Yaya the mean choirgirl, Chiyo and Kagome entered.

"_Konichiwa, _Nagisa-oneesama," Kagome greeted as they both bowed.

"Kagome-chan and I want to go hiking in the woods," said Chiyo, "but the Headmistress says we have to have senpai supervision." Her cheeks flushed a little. She hated asking for favors. "Would you join us, please?"

"Of course." Nagisa smiled and got up. "I'd love to. Lemme get my shoes..."

"_Demo, _Nagisa-senpai, what about your poem?" Tsubomi protested.

"Ahh, let her go," Yaya insisted, waving her off. "She deserves a break. Besides," she whispered seductively, "if she's gone we can get back to 'making up.'"

As the three hikers departed Chiyo and Tsubomi exchanged glares.

"Okuwaka," Chiyo hissed.

"Tsukidate," Tsubomi snarled.

Yaya could hear Nagisa in the hallway: "Anything's a great alternative to Gidget and Horndog in there."

---

Yesterday a group of eleven-year-old girls had come to Astraea Hill to get a tour and take their entrance exams. Remon and Kizuna showed the little tweeny boppers around, explaining the schools' curricular and extra-curricular activities. Kizuna was cheerful enough telling them about Miator's academic teams and Spica's sports teams. But she was at her most exuberant when she explained Lulim's offbeat and wayward clubs. She went on and on with an excitement and pride for Lulim that Remon found incredibly cute.

After the tour Remon was approached by a small girl with sky-blue hair in pigtails and quick golden eyes. She wore a gray sweater with the letter A on it, a brown skirt, and tube socks. She asked, "What year are you?"

"Fourth," Remon answered. "Next year I'll be fifth."

The girl nodded. "Do you know my sister? She goes to Spica."

Remon tilted her head. "I'm not sure...You DO look familiar, though." The chubby cheeks, that old flash in her topaz eyes...Could it be...?

"Okuwaka Tsubomi is my sister. I'm Akiko. Okuwaka Akiko." She bowed.

Remon returned the gesture, resisting the urge to laugh. She had suddenly flashed back to when she was a second year and Tsubomi, a spitfire of a first year, threw a tantrum when no one applauded her performance as Juliet Capulet. _Dear God, TWO Tsubomi's? I can hardly stand one!_

Akiko cocked her head, her butterscotch eyes sparkling comically. She laughed. "Don't associate me too strongly with her. I'm not that much like her."

Remon breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief, and Akiko giggled. Then the green haired Etoile wished her luck on her exams and sent her along with the others.

Now today the Etoile couple was back to their daily routine: signing crap in the conference room. It was reminding Kizuna of the detention policy at St. Olaf Primary: sit in a desk and write "late" or "spitball" for four hours. She sighed. This Etoile thing wasn't an honor. It was punishment.

Meanwhile the premier was contemplating legally changing her name so she wouldn't have to write _Natsume Remon _anymore. A good chat with Kizuna would liven things up; the two of them could go for an hour on one subject alone. _But what can we talk about anymore? _Remon wondered. _Hey, Kizuna-chan, signing stuff is a bitch, ain't it? You got that right, Remon-chan. _Remon couldn't believe she had to work this hard to come up with a conversation topic for Kizuna.

"What do you think of college?" she blurted.

Kizuna looked up, surprised that her girlfriend was talking about something other than the weather. "Uh...It's college? For college people...?"

"Yeah but, um..." Remon nervously averted her gaze. "What do you think about college and you?"

Kizuna blinked. "I haven't...really thought much about it. Is it important right now?" She set down her pen and leaned forward --- a good sign. This meant she was willing to engage in this.

Remon smiled despite the conversation topic. She was just happy to talk to Kizuna like a normal person. "Well, we're in high school now, so it's pretty serious. Not that THIS has to be serious," she added quickly, indicating their much-needed conversation. "Just wishful thinking. Where would you LIKE to go?"

Kizuna smiled, and seemed to dream away for a moment. "Sturton University," she answered fondly.

"Is that a...good college?"

"So my dad says. My mom studied there."

Remon flinched. She hadn't expected to talk about Kizuna's deceased mother.

Kizuna frowned. "But then, maybe my dad likes to think that Sturton is one of the greats. He was drunk when he said this. He drinks cheap sake about once every year to forget Mom." She shrugged.

Remon had never seen Mr. Hyuuga drunk, and the thought terrified her. Like his only kid, he had a big willful personality, but he wasn't as cheerful as Kizuna. Mrs. Hyuuga Remon remembered as being goofy; that must have been where Kizuna got her blithe and eecentric personality from.

"What did your mom major in?"

"Political sciences." Kizuna was smiling again. "My dad seems to think that I'd make a great political figure, but I'm not so sure."

"I think you would," Remon smiled. "Remember what Chikaru-oneesama said about us at the Etoile selection?"

Being President of Lulim back then, naturally Chikaru vouched for Remon and Kizuna. After the battle it is customary for the Presidents and former Etoiles to deliberate. Chikaru had said, "Remon is versatile and Kizuna is innovative. Between them they could apply some original ideas and necessary changes."

Remon grunted. She and Kizuna had officially been Etoiles for about one hundred and fifty days. In America the significance of a President's term is determined by the first one hundred days in office. At Astraea Hill all Remon and Kizuna had done was veto a bill proposed by the President of Spica calling for a full-color yearbook (Remon said it was a moneyhole; Kizuna said it lessened the experience for sixth years, whose pictures were usually exclusively printed in color). The student council was coming up with the original ideas and necessary changes. All Kizuna got to do was pass or veto them.

"Um, never mind," Remon mumbled. "But, uh, if you were President of Lulim, what would you do?"

Kizuna took a pregnant pause before saying, "I would apply the school's budget a little more to the fine arts department. Lulim Symphonic Band could use a French horn section, and a baritone section..."

"That's good," Remon nodded. "You don't want to lose the band either, so they need more financial support."

"I would also do something about that unsightly dead oak tree outside the social sciences building. I mean, Lulim was added to Astraea Hill when...? 1975-ish? I'm willing to bet it's been dead since 1980. I'd replace it with a nice rowan."

"Rowans are cheap, so it wouldn't disrupt Lulim's finances. Very good."

"Also, I'd like to make Lulim's entrance exams harder."

Remon blinked her eyes wide. "Harder?"

"Yeah." Kizuna nodded furiously, leaning forward. Clearly this was something she was passionate about. "Just because we're the least selective school doesn't mean we should admit every Sara, Beth, and Melissa. Lulim's curriculum is advanced --- I'd hate to see someone struggle, flunk, or drop out."

"See?! You're a great politician!" Remon also leaned forward, took her girlfriend's hands, her brown eyes shining affectionately. "You've just covered issues with Lulim's budget, curriculum, and you even have an idea to beautify the campus! Hitomi needs advisors to come up with ideas like that, but you came up with them like THAT on your own!" She leaned her head on Kizuna's and nuzzled her softly.

"Well, not like THAT..." Kizuna mumbled sheepishly. "Ever since we became Etoile I've wanted to do this." She smiled and squeezed Remon's hands. "But you know what I want to do right now?"

Kizuna tilted her head and kissed Remon deeply. The Etoile premier groaned involuntarily. It had been so long since she last touched Kizuna, let alone kiss her. Remon leaned in still, trying to deepen the kiss, trying to feel more...But it was difficult to deepen the kiss without the use of her hands. _If only Kizuna-chan'd let them go..._Remon tried to pull the objects in question free, but Kizuna held them tight and brought them down to her waist. Then Kizuna brought her own hands to Remon's shoulders. It occured to the viridian-haired girl that Kizuna was sort of _pushing _her. _Pushing me onto the conference table...?_

"W-what are you doing Kizuna?"

"What does it LOOK like I'm doing?" Kizuna grinned, straddling Remon on the table. She leaned forward and continued kissing her, letting her hand travel up and down her side. Kizuna, being a bit inexperienced in terms of lovemaking, couldn't help but giggle between kisses, feeling Remon writhe and squirm against her hand.

"I don't think we can do this here..." the premier mumbled, turning her head to take in the odd scenery. This left her neck vulnerable, and Kizuna began kissing it lightly. Remon squeaked, making the cadette laugh.

"No one's gonna know," Kizuna assured her softly. "And it'll give us something fun to think about when we're signing stuff." She showered Remon with some more kisses before whispering, "Your glasses are in the way..."

---

It wasn't often that Remon and Kizuna coupled. But when they did, the experience was as funny and interesting as their conversations. The first funny moment came when Kizuna, driven by an incredible urge to just fuck, hadn't bothered with completely stripping herself or Remon. Instead, she reached under Remon's skirt and yanked away her underwear. The premier, without thinking, blurted, "Oh! So THAT'S why they call it 'easy access'!" This made Kizuna laugh.

The second funny moment came when things were getting hot and heavy, fast and furious. Kizuna was going down on Remon, something she'd never done before but no instruction manual required, alternating between licking and jabbing with her tongue and occasionally sucking the hood of REmon's clitoris. Then, suddenly, the premier made the weirdest noise: "_Gyuh! Guh! Gah! Uh!_"

Kizuna hesitated, then popped her head up, her lips glistening. Remon had stopped bucking and laid flat on her back, her eyes focused blearily on the ceiling fan. Kizuna facepalmed. _Oh! That was Remon-chan's orgasm! _That got the cadette laughing so hard she couldn't finish. Oh, well. Sex is still great without an orgasm.

---

"Do you know where my ticket is, Tamao-chan?"

"No! I don't know anything!" the poet sobbed as she flew through the airport at a breakneck speed.

"You knew once..."

Tamao roughly jerked herself awake. Her violet eyes snapped open wide, the pupils dilated. Chikaru was standing over her, an enigmatic smile on her friendly face. Tamao slowly settled back in her bed, her eyes locked on Chikaru's, her breath and heartbeat calming. How was it that Chikaru could always calm people down just by looking at them?

"Is it a recurring nightmare?" the former Lulim President asked.

Tamao blinked. "What...?" Her voice was clear; she was wide awake.

"I could see you were having a bad dream. Do you have it often?"

_Oh, boy. A Chikaru pep-talk. _The poet slowly sat up. "I suppose..."

"Ever since you and Nagisa-chan broke up?"

Tamao's eyes widened. "You know about that?" She wasn't going to bother asking how. Between Chikaru and Kagome, Lulim was pumping out the world's best psychologists since Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Tamao rested her chin on her knees. "But yes. You're right. Ever since we broke up I keep having this violent, paranoid dream. I'm running through an airport, trying to get to Harajuku to see my sick father, and Nagisa..." Tamao felt a flash of anger remembering what the redhead did in her dream. "...Nagisa keeps pestering me about her lost ticket, and because of her I miss the plane. And then my dad dies."

"You feel Nagisa-chan's holding you back." Chikaru wasn't asking a question. She stated it as a fact.

"Yes! God, yes!" Tamao exclaimed. Finally, someone who understood her. Leave it to Chikaru to sum up the meaning of a crazy complicated dream into one sentence. "Because she's a hopeless overly-dependent klutz, I missed my flight and my dad died."

Chikaru blinked, then readjusted one of her bows in bemusion. "You don't blame Nagisa-chan for your father's death, do you?"

"No! Of course not!" Then Tamao sighed. "Well...Maybe subconsciously I do. But when I'm awake I don't. But he's dying, and she doesn't care." Tamao was more surprised than Chikaru when tears suddenly sprang from her eyes. The poet pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. "My father is dying and all she thinks about is...is..." Tamao broke down completely. Most people cry from their eyes. That morning Tamao felt like every pore of her body was crying. She crossed her arms on her knees and cried into them like a kid who had just lost her best friend.

Chikaru sat on the edge of Tamao's bed and wrapped her arms around the poet. Tamao clung to her and sobbed into her shirt. This went on for a few minutes until Tamao managed to stop crying, her whole body exhausted from its crying jag. She pulled back and realized she'd stained Chikaru's shirt right through to her bra with her tears. The poet hoped that was okay.

Chikaru didn't seem to mind. She brushed aside Tamao's bangs and cupped her elbow with more sympathy than the poet could comprehend.

"Nagisa-chan DOES think about your father. She thinks about you. She wants you to be happy, and she wants to make you happy."

"She makes me happy," Tamao whimpered, "but success would also make me happy. And I can't be successful if I've got to stop and cater to her every need."

"You know, true happiness equals success to everyone," Chikaru sighed, "but they don't realize how happy you could be by just stringing together some small pleasures. Like eating a piece of cake. Or sitting down to watch your favorite TV show. Or finishing chapter seven of a Stephen King novel and knowing you've got fifteen more to go."

Tamao smiled. Those sounded like the simple pleasures Nagisa indulged in, except the last one.

"Maybe happiness," Chikaru continued, "doesn't HAVE to be about the big, sweeping circumstances, about having everything in your life in place. Maybe it's a matter of the upticks --- such as drinking your morning cup of coffee --- and downticks --- such as pulling a Charlie horse --- that you come across in an ordinary day. Maybe everyone has the same allotted amount of happiness per day."

Chikaru was on a roll. Tamao wondered if at this point she was trying to make her feel better or she'd had an epiphany and was just rambling. But just _looking _at the former Lulim President, her body turned full toward Tamao, her chin lowered, her brown eyes focused levelly on the poet. Everything about Chikaru was so...so _earnest._

"Maybe it doesn't matter if you're a straight-A genius or a hopeless overly-dependent klutz. Maybe it doesn't matter if your dad is dying.

"Maybe you just get through it," said Chikaru. "Maybe that's all you could hope for."

---

Tamao cleared her throat. "Apropos of nothing, why were you in my room anyway?"

Chikaru smiled. "Shion-chan had sent me to get you for lunch."

"Lunch?!" Tamao urgently swung her legs over the edge of her bed, blinking at the sunlight in the window. "How late did I sleep?"

Chikaru showed the poet her wristwatch. "Pretty darn late." Tamao groaned. 1245 hours. "We've probably missed lunch, but that's okay. The kitchen's still open. Why don't we grab a snack and go join the others out on the beach?"

Tamao shook her head, standing up. "_Gomen nasai_, Chikaru-san. But there's something I need to do..."

Chikaru wasn't pushy. She departed from the poet's room. She knew very well that what Tamao needed to do was talk to Nagisa.

---

"Nagisa-senpai! Look what I found yesterday while you were out!"

The redhead looked up blearily to see Tsubomi excitedly waving a blue composition notebook. It wasn't that Nagisa hadn't slept last night. She just hadn't slept well, and watching the pinkette flap the notebook about made her dizzy. She laid her head down on the desk.

Tsubomi came up to the desk, flipping the pages. Settling on a page, she set the notebook beside Nagisa's face. The redhead murmured, "What is this?"

The pinkette puffed up proudly. "A notebook of poems. I'll have you know that when I was twelve I was quite the poet." She affected what she believed to be a noble pose, but Nagisa could see right up her nostrils. "I was full of spirituality . . . angst . . . and all that other crap." She dropped her pose and tapped her notebook. "I'm letting you borrow this. Hope it helps."

"Helps? You saved my life!" Nagisa sat up, and began flipping through it. "So which poem do you think I should copy?"

"Oi! No copying! This is supposed to be YOUR ultimate expression of love for Tamao-senpai! This was just to inspire you."

Yaya, who was woken up by her girlfriend's outburst, laughed. "Please, Tsubomi. YOUR idea of expressing love is to try and beat me up."

"Shut up, Yaya-senpai!"

Nagisa held up the notebook, an eyebrow raised. "You brought Scotch tape and a notebook full of two-year-old poems to the beach? What's the deal?"

Yaya chuckled. "Tsubomi likes to bring that junk on vacation."

"Well, that 'junk' came in handy," the kouhai said defensively.

Yaya grinned and sat up. "That notebook has TSubomi's poems in it? Gimme." To the pinkette's horror, Nagisa complied. The brunette's brown eyes had that mischievous glint as she turned the pages. "This ought to be good..." She reached over and pinched Tsubomi's cheek. "Maybe wittle Pinky wrote Yaya-oneesama a wittle wuv poem," she cooed, laughing giddily as Tsubomi blushed and gruffly pushed her hand away.

Yaya silently flipped through the notebook, in seach of love poems. She stopped to read one to herself and snorted. "What the hell...? Okay, listen to this...

_The Earth opens up...to swallow me whole  
The sky...dips...like dragon's teeth  
I am...melting...?_"

Yaya and Nagisa looked at Tsubomi oddly.

Tsubomi shrugged. "Ehh, you both had to be there at the time..." She smirked. "Don't tell me you never wrote a bad poem, Yaya."

Yaya grinned and thought up a rhyme on the spot.

"_But who! could make my heart  
Churn and roar like a tsunami?  
Only thou! my  
Fair, sweet Tsubomi._"

The pinkette's face softened, and she blushed. Then she hid her feelings with a glare and put her hands on her hips. "You did not just rhyme my name with tsunami?"

"Oh, I so went there..."

Nagisa was scribbling something down when she heard a knock on the door. The redhead paid it no heed, for she was way too into writing her poem for Tamao. Then she heard Tsubomi.

"Oh! Tamao-senpai! _Konichiwa!_"

"_Oussu, _Tsubomi-chan. _Ote wa Nagisa-chan desu ka?_"

"Er, right here..."

Nagisa jerked her head up. Yes, Tamao was right there, having asked Tsubomi where she was, her amethyst eyes focused on her. _Oh my God, I think I'm hallucinating!_

Tsubomi hurriedly grabbed Yaya and dragged her out of the room. "C'mon, Yaya-senpai, these two need to be alone..." The pinkette deftly closed the door behind her.

Nagisa gripped her pen tighter as Tamao slowly, quietly approached her. She tried to read the poet's face. At first she thought Tamao looked worried. The redhead could understand this; she showed up to the beach house looking like a wreck, and then she up and disappeared for three days. Then it struck Nagisa that Tamao looked a little scared. This freaked the redhead out. _Tamao-chan doesn't get scared --- I do!_

"Nagisa, I came to apologize."

_I REALLY think I'm hallucinating!!!_

"It wasn't right what I said and did to you. I just..." At this point Tamao had come close enough to see what was on the redhead's desk. She blinked. "_Anoo..._What are you doing?"

Nagisa didn't respond immediately. Her poem was one line away from being done. She jotted down the last line. Then she shakily held up the Rainbow poem, all taped up.

Tamao's eyes widened. "Is this...?"

"_Hai. _It is."

The poet's fingers trembled as she accepted the old poem. "N-Nagisa..."

Nagisa shook her head. "I really wish you hadn't torn up that poem. It was really, really good. Better than..." She blushed, and held up her now completed poem. "Better than what I wrote for you," she muttered sheepishly.

Tamao's breath snagged in her chest. "For me...?"

"Yes." Nagisa bowed her head, offering the poem to the blue-haired girl. "It's nothing compared to the Rainbow, but I hope you'll accept it."

And accept it Tamao did. Her heart thundering, she eased herself on the nearest bed to read. Nagisa watched her face. At first Tamao bit her lip, as she had a tendency to do when reading to herself. Then it occured to Nagisa that Tamao was biting her lip to suppress laughter, which exploded forth fairly early into her reading of the redhead's poem.

_Well, that means it's not terrible, right? _thought Nagisa.

The poet's laughing quickly turned into sobbing. Nagisa quickly got up, and put her hands on Tamao's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Tamao-chan, but it's the best I can do."

"Nagisa-chan, I..." Tamao was actually laughing through her tears_. Oh God, she's gone bonkers_. The poet took Nagisa's hand and squeezed it. _"_Aishiteru, Nagisa-chan. I want to get back together with you."

Nagisa sighed with relief, and kissed Tamao on the cheek, tasting salty tears. "So that means it's good?"

Tamao giggled. "Well, it's..."

---

"Chikaru-san!"

Chikaru looked up from her crossword puzzle to see Tamao running up to her. The blue-haired girl held a sheet of paper in her hand. She looked so happy. Without a doubt, she had managed to make the most out of a simple pleasure.

"Did you talk to Nagisa-chan?" the former Lulim President smiled.

"I did! We're back together!"

"That's great!"

"There's more!" Tamao was practically dancing, she was so happy. "Nagisa-chan wrote me a poem! She DID care about me!"

"I knew she did," nodded Chikaru. "Can I hear it?"

"Yes, you can." Tamao stopped dancing and stood up straight, ready to recite her girlfriend's poem in her best poetry reading voice (which she perfected in Speech Class as a third year).

_MY GIRLFRIEND  
by Aoi Nagisa_

_To her I've been a bum,  
And she must think I'm pretty dumb._

_Sometimes I forget she's human,  
But she needs to get a clue, man._

_She's my everything.  
More than just a fling._

_She's always been so great to me  
She even makes me tasty tea_

_She knows how to turn my cheeks red.  
She tucks me in bed when I'm tire-ed._

_Tamao, what I'm trying to say  
(And I'm not sure if this is a good way),_

_I'm sorry for making you mad.  
Living without you makes me sad._

_I'm glad Tamao is my girlfriend,  
And not somebody else or something._

And Tamao was crying again. By this time Shion, Kaname, Momomi, and Amane had come to hear this poem. Chikaru nodded, "It's, uh...very good...?"

"Oh, it's terrible!" Tamao cried. "But it's...so sweet..."

"Yeah, uh," Momomi coughed. "Any of you interested in playing some softball? They got those diamonds out in the woods."

"I'd love to!" Tamao exclaimed. "Let me just get my girlfriend!" And she danced off to do just that.

"She makes my mouth taste like throw up," said Kaname.

"This is probably the one time I'll ever agree with you," Amane said slowly, "but...I agree with you."

---

The Fling lasted about four days. Miyuki couldn't remember a time out of those four days when she was sober, except in the mornings. In the mornings she woke up with the worst hangovers where she would vomit for a solid hour. _I'm never drinking again, _she thought. Then, in a desperate attempt to rid herself of this Hangover From Hell, Miyuki would follow the hair-of-the-dog rule and drink some more.

"Mochiru-kun!" she cried from the bathroom. "I need a cocktail!"

"D-do we HAVE booze?" Mochiru asked uncertainly.

"I think we have some Tanqueray gin in the freezer! _Aaaauuu,_" she groaned as another wave of nausea hit her. "Alcohol! Need...alcohol!"

A bit freaked, Mochiru ran into the kitchen.

Miyuki imagined she and her husband looked ridiculous. If she were going to St. Ninnian, she'd be rooming with Shizuma and probably she would be playing Mochiru's role. Also, since Shizuma's hair was considerably longer than Miyuki's, the blue-haired woman would have to hold it back while Shizuma vomited. That was the code of trust in college, right? Where was someone to hold back Miyuki's hair while she threw up.

"Um...Yuki-chan...?" Mochiru called.

"What?"

"All we have is sake...But there's a fresh pot of coffee."

"Mix the coffee and the sake," Miyuki begged. It was probably dangerous to mix alcohol (a depressant) with caffeine (a stimulant), and hot totties are gross anyways, but Miyuki didn't care.

_That's it, _she thought, raising her head off the cold bathroom tile. _I don't care anymore. I don't care about Mochiru. Or Kentaro. Or any of the Harunas or Rokujous. _But then, what did that leave for Miyuki to care about?

Shizuma would laugh and say, "Not a human being personally, but humanity."

"Humanity," Miyuki echoed out loud as Mochiru came dashing into the bathroom with her hot tottie.

"Jeez, you look like death," he said softly, mopping sweat off her brow. "Maybe you should lay off the booze."

"Need...liquor..."

Against Mochiru's better judgment, Miyuki got her hot tottie. She sipped it, humming gratefully as the Tanqueray and the coffee burned her throat. She knew what she had to do. There was no right time to do it, but...

"Mochiru-kun, I want a divorce."

* * *

Wowee, this chapter was long, and if you've made it through in one sitting you deserve a medal. Hopefully you liked the poetry. Not many people had suggestions for lame poetry. Nagisa's poem My Girlfriend was mostly written by KaraWasHere (NuthinNice872 on deviantART) with a little editing done by me.

NEXT CHAPTER: The gang plays softball, Hikari bugs Yaya, and Tamao and Nagisa find out what's the big deal with makeup sex ;)

btw, I've got a drawing of Akiko up on deviantART. My father read her description in the entrance exam scene and insisted my description of her was vague. So if you want to see the drawing, my username is chiharusenpai. (Also, I could just use more watchers ^^;)


	21. Home Sweet Home

I suck for taking such a long time to update. Therefore, I promise to make an original SP! joke at the end of each AGUA chapter from now on. Enjoy and review please.

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Home Sweet Home**

After their stay at the beach was over, the girls all went their separate ways. Most of them went home. Chikaru and Shion opted to return to St. Ninnian University for a reason only known to them. The rest of the gang boarded buses that would take them to various train stations. This part of the school year was always unsettling: the part where they were temporarily removed from warm, romantic Astraea Hill and moved to the real world.

It was a cold and rainy world out there.

Yaya sighed, listening to the downpour outside pound on the train window. The train moved relatively smoothly, occasionally jolted by an imperfection on the rail. The _hhhrruuummmm _of the train became a hypnotic buzz in the Spican's ears.

Tsubomi sat snuggled up to her, her fuchsia-haired head rested on the elder girl's shoulder. She wasn't asleep, but she drifted in and out of the threshold. She knew she had to stay awake lest she miss her Tokyo stop. But the train's warmth and Yaya's cuddliness made it a tribulation. _Maybe Yaya-chan will wake me up when we reach Tokyo, _the pinkette thought. And with a drowsy sigh, she gave in to sleep's temptation.

Little did she know that Yaya, lulled by the music of rainfall, had also fallen asleep.

---

"Wow," Nagisa gasped as she and Tamao exited the train station hand-in-hand. "It's so…so…" No adjective seemed to do the bustling city of Harajuku justice.

"I know," the poet sighed happily, suddenly overcome with nostalgia. "It's impossible to be bored in Harajuku."

Nagisa's garnet eyes took in the city's assets one at a time. Construction work set aside due to the inclement weather. A traffic jam due to the construction work. A multi-colored sea of umbrellas flowing through the sidewalks. A glowing Mc Donald's sign. A statue of a toadstool in the center of a shopping plaza. It was almost overwhelming to Nagisa, who had grown up in a small, intimate suburb. She wondered what it would've been like to grow up here.

Tamao opened her blue umbrella. As she started to walk, she pulled her hand away from Nagisa's.

The redhead blinked, confused. "_Anoo, _Tamao-chan. Why---"

"I don't mean anything bad by it," the blue-haired girl sighed. "It's just…In a big city like Harajuku…Its residents don't…take too kindly to…………_yuri_," she finished uncomfortably.

"Eh? Why, Tamao-chan? What problem do people have with it?"

Tamao smiled ruefully, resisting the urge to pinch Nagisa's cheeks or hug her or something. "You're so naïve, Nagisa-chan. Not all of Japan is like Astraea Hill, where homosexuality is tolerated, even preferred. A lot of people think it's creepy and unnatural."

"I don't get it…"

"Neither do I," said Tamao. "I can't really explain it or justify it." She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, almost worriedly, "Some kids' parents kick them out."

"Uwahh? That's awful!" Nagisa fell silent. She thought about her parents. Komatsu, the air-headed klutz, and Naomi, the determined conglomerate shark. Would either one of them kick their daughter out? But they were abroad, so did it matter? Would her aunt kick her out? But Naoki-obasan went to Miator, so…

"Tamao-chan," Nagisa blurted.

"Hmm?"

"Does…Does Astraea Hill turn a girl into a…into a…"

Tamao lowered her chin. "That's a popular opinion in Japan. A lot of outraged parents have withdrawn their daughters from the Hill. Some have even sued the Headmistress. But no one can prove that Astraea Hill is a 'gay school.' It's not like the staff encourages _yuri_…" The blue-haired girl shrugged. "I think it's just puberty. You have all these raging hormones and beautiful almost adult girls around. What else are you supposed to do?"

"But your theory suggests that these feelings are temporary," Nagisa pointed out as they rounded a corner. "Are you saying that after we graduate we'll lose interest in each other?"

"I could never!" Tamao cried, impetuously seizing her girlfriend's hand. She promptly withdrew her own. "_Gomenasai._ You may be right, actually. Perhaps my theory _is _erroneous." Another pregnant pause. "…But then, why _does _everyone at Astraea Hill couple with other girls?"

"Maybe it's not everyone…"

They turned into an alleyway. By foot this was always how Tamao and her family went home. True, it left you vulnerable for an attack, which was why the poet was never allowed out on her own at night. Once they got through the alleyway they were in a small subdivision. Red brick houses with gray shutters and black doors lined the narrow street. The only thing that distinguished them was the number next to the door.

Tamao closed the umbrella, for the trees provided sufficient coverage from the rain. She paused before leading her girlfriend toward her home.

"Why do you seem so hesitant, Tamao-chan?" Nagisa inquired.

Tamao sighed. "It's just…there's so much bad blood between my mom and dad. I've a feeling Nobuyuki is not happy to have Arashi in her house. I don't want to drag you into this, but…you wanted to meet them…"

"I do," the redhead nodded.

The blue-haired poet squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. "They are going to be at each other's throats constantly. You're probably going to get caught in the cross-fire," she warned.

"Hey, it's okay," Nagisa assured. "After hanging out with Yaya-chan and Tsubomi-chan I should be used to cross-fires, ne?"

Tamao groaned. "Nobuyuki and Arashi will make Yaya and Tsubomi look like WASPs."

"Jeez." Nagisa bit her lip. "That bad?"

"Excruciatingly so…"

They came to the Katayanagi-Suzumi residence toward the end of the street. It was a squat, boxy bungalow with the same color scheme as the other houses. A brass _roku _(six) was nailed next to the steel black door. A russet-colored pot of flowers was set out on the front deck, an old chair covered with cob webs, a doormat saying _konichiwa. _Everything your friendly household has. _Looks can be so deceiving, _Tamao thought as she rang the doorbell.

---

Yaya was woken up suddenly and violently by Tsubomi shaking her. The brunette groggily sat up, wiped drool from her chin with her sleeve, and blinked her sharp brown eyes. The train was completely empty save for the two of them.

"Oi, Yaya-senpai! I missed my stop!"

"And what…? It's _my _fault?" Yaya twisted around so she could look out the window. The train seemed to be going in the opposite direction it was going in before they fell asleep. "I seem to have missed my stop, too."

"This is ridiculous! You were supposed to wake me up!"

"No, I wasn't! But, of course, being the little brat you are, you thought you were entitled to a nap! I'm tired, too, okay?"

"I'm not a brat, you---" Tsubomi's cell phone interrupted their dispute. The pinkette jumped up to take the call. When she returned she reported sullenly, "That was my dad, chewing me out for being late."

_Oh, like it's _my _fault, _Yaya thought bitterly, crossing her arms and glaring. _Drop it, you dumb baby._

"Apparently we've been out of it for two and a half hours," Tsubomi continued. "I was supposed to be home around 1200 hours." She sighed. "But my father's happy that I wasn't hurt or anything. Still, he expected better from me than falling asleep on the train."

"It's so hard not to," Yaya yawned. Then she grinned and pulled Tsubomi close. "Especially when you've got a cute li'l kouhai to cuddle!"

"H-hey! C'mon!" The fuchsia-haired Spican glowered, but her cheeks pinkened. "It doesn't help that Yaya-senpai is soft and snuggly as well!"

The raven-haired senpai had to laugh. _Soft _and _snuggly _were such endearing words, and here they were using them in argument. _That is so us._

"You're softer," Yaya teased, poking Tsubomi's cheek. "You haven't lost one bit of baby fat, have you? I'll bet you have Turner's Syndrome!"

"Well, excuse me that it didn't all go to my chest, _Yaya-senpai. _And I don't look that young!"

The brunette chuckled. "Oh, yes you do. When I was your age I was twice your height!"

The intercom crackled and the driver announced, "Now approaching Shinjuku Station in Tokyo," but the two lovers didn't hear him.

"Well, then," said Tsubomi, "that means when you're fifty and I'm forty-eight you'll look like an old hag and I'll still be young and cute!"

"You? I doubt it. You'll develop all kinds of bad habits and age like _that._"

"That's a hypothetical argument, Yaya-senpai."

There was a beeping sound, and the train started moving again.

Yaya snorted. "Please, Tsubomi…I've seen you drink coffee. 'Moderation' is not in your vocabulary. You're just an AA-case waiting to happen."

Tsubomi looked out the window sharply. Then her golden eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Yaya-senpai," she spoke at length, "did I just miss my stop again?"

Yaya also looked out the window, not recognizing the urban scenery. The rain made it difficult to decipher landmarks. But the dark-haired Spican could've sworn the train just passed a glowing sign that said Eastern Tokyo High School.

"I guess you did," she sighed.

The pinkette pounded the seat in frustration, a virtual thundercloud forming over her head. "Damn it, Yaya-senpai!"

"I suppose this is my fault, too, ne?"

"You distracted me!"

Yaya held up a finger, indicating silence. "We should hold off on the fighting. I don't want to miss my Yokohama stop…"

---

Kagome pulled the hood of her olive spring jacket further over her face as she made her way through the residential parts of Saitima. With Pashibaru jammed up the front of her jacket, the Lulim girl looked like a beer-bellied pedo. And a short one at that.

The heel of her shoe skidded on the rain-slicked sidewalk, and Kagome nearly fell. She had always loved the sidewalks in Saitima, especially the cracks. These were real, actual cracks, not just indents in the cement. Ever since she was little Kagome had loved stepping forcefully on each crack. However, walking on the sidewalk after rain or snowfall was an ordeal.

The Byakudan residence had always exuded a reclusive air --- garage door always shut, curtains always drawn. So it surprised Kagome to find the garage door open. Even more surprising: there was Rumiko, bent over the engine of her Honda.

Kagome blinked. It wasn't like Rumiko to be doing these things. Hesitantly, the third year walked up the driveway, removing her hood as she entered the garage.

"…Okaasan," she uttered.

Rumiko jumped, thwacking her head against the hood. She cringed and shook her head exasperatedly. She was a tall, skinny woman with shoulder-length black hair and piercing ice-blue eyes.

"_Gomenasai!_" Kagome cried, touching Rumiko's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Her mother sighed and nodded.

"I d-didn't mean to surprise you…"

Rumiko nodded once, signifying that she knew her daughter hadn't meant to surprise her. She cleared her throat and turned her attention back to the car. She was facing away from Kagome. She didn't acknowledge her at all.

The Lulim girl inched toward the garage entrance. "I'm, uh, going to unpack and settle in…" When Rumiko didn't say anything, Kagome squeaked, "…okay?"

Her cold eyes fixed on the engine, as if trying to telekinetically repair it, Rumiko nodded and gave her daughter a thumbs-up.

"I-I didn't know you could fix cars," Kagome stuttered.

Rumiko continued to stare at the car as she replied distantly, "Fixing cars is simple…It's people I can't fix apparently…"

---

Tsubomi sat alone on the train. During their fifth round through its route, Yaya remembered to get off at Yokohama. The Spican couple shared a long, passionate kiss, grateful that the car was empty, before the elder girl grabbed her laundry bag and dashed off.

Shinjuku Station in Tokyo was the next stop. Tsubomi knew it from the map of the train route.

She really needed to use the bathroom. But she didn't want to miss her stop again. That would just be shameful. _The train could arrive at Shinjuku any minute now. _Tsubomi had been telling herself that for the past half hour, and her bladder was ready to explode. She crossed her legs and leaned her elbows on her knees.

She sighed, knowing that when she got to Shinjuku Station she'd have quite a distance to walk to the nearest bathroom. And the nearest bathroom on the train was right there.

_I'll just be a second. _She ran into the bathroom, did what she had to do, washed her hands, and ran back out. She sat back down and waited for the announcement…

"Now approaching Shinmaku Station in Osaka."

Tsubomi blinked. Once. Twice. Then she referenced her map…

"What the hell!" she exploded. She was on the verge of crying because she had had such a bad day.

Her cell phone rang.

"_Moshimoshi…_Yeah, Dad, I know. I'm sorry…"

* * *

**Q: **How many Lulim students does it take to change a light bulb?

**A: **Four. One to change the light bulb, and three to start a club for it.

*Drum roll*


	22. Homecoming

My dear readers, I came through an earthquake to bring you this update of AGUA!

**Miyuki: **Actually, it was only a 4.3 earthquake. Haiti's was 500 times stronger.

Ehh, still...that's like the 2nd earthquake I've experienced in the last three years.

* * *

**AW, GROW UP ALREADY!**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Homecoming**

"Tamao...?" Suzumi Arashi murmured, his wide, thin mouth hardly seeming to move. He was short for a man, though his exact height Nagisa couldn't pinpoint, with feathery blue hair, bleary violet eyes, silver-framed glasses, and a goatee. Tamao could gauge with grim familiarity how drunk her father was by how he swayed, but the flush of inebriation could not conquer his yellow, parchment-like skin.

Arashi stepped aside, letting the two girls in. "Gomenashai. Bad form t'let young ladiesh shtand outshide in th' rain." As he spoke Nagisa noticed a fang flash out from under his upper lip, like a lighning bolt.

Tamao grimaced at the bottle of whiskey Arashi was clutching. "You answer the door like _this _nowadays?"

"Golly, your mother shaysh that alla time. I ushed a heed 'er orders, shet th' bottle down afore I'd anshwer th' door. Then I figgered, 'ey, we're all friendsh 'ere." He set the bottle down on a table in the foyer. Then he chivalrously took Tamao and Nagisa's jackets. He was drunk, but he was a gentleman.

"Would you like shome tea? Or would you prefer coffee?" he offered.

"Tea's fine," Tamao nodded. She looked at her girlfriend, to see if tea would be fine. Nagisa only nodded. There was something so unreal about being in this Victorian house in Tokyo with her girlfriend and her smashed father. Suzumi Arashi was like one of those strange men she was told to avoid in primary school. To think that one fathered Tamao...

_He may be dangerous, but he's not necessarily bad_, Nagisa decided. She followed Arashi and Tamao into their little kitchen_. Who am I to judge him?_

Tamao and Nagisa seated themselves at the small round table whilst Arashi put on the water heater. Their kitchen was diminutive, but it was very modern, the redhead realized. Mounted above its entrance was a digital clock. All of the appliances were stainless steel, and the countertops were granite. The refridgerator had its freezer below the fridge; Nagisa's old-fashioned aunt still had a fridge that you had to bend over to open. The redhead was dimly considering how old that refridgerator was when Arashi started speaking to her.

"Tamao rarely bringsh people home with her. Are you a friend of hersh or shomething?"

_Or something is right_. Nagisa's wine-colored eyes flicked to the poet, who immediately gave a response.

"She's my roommate. This is Aoi Nagisa."

"Nagisha...Pretty name."

"Thank you," Nagisa smiled shyly.

Arashi opened one of his black-painted cabinets and, getting up on tip-toe, reached for one of its higher shelves. "All'sh I got ish gunpowder green tea. Hope you don't mind."

Neither of the girls minded. Tamao was wondering if her father should be making tea in such a state when the container of tea fell from the cabinet. Dull green herbs spilled all over the ceramic tile floor.

"Shit," Arashi growled, snatching a broom.

Quickly, Tamao jumped up. "Here, I'll take care of it." She took the broom and swept up the vert mess. Smirling gratefully, Arashi seated himself where she had previously been sitting.

"So, uh...Hear anything from your doctors lately?" Tamao queried, trying her hardest to be conversational and get information at the same time.

Her father shook his head. Then his thick eyebrows knitted and he tapped his bearded chin. "Come to think of it, I haven't sheen Dr. Weithman inna really long time."

The statement sounded so preposterous the poet couldn't help but look sharply at her father. Even Nagisa was a bit bemused; she cocked her head and stared curiously at Arashi. A look of dread which intensified every second showed on Tamao's face. She could guess what this meant, but she didn't want to know.

---

Tsubomi nodded her head, giving an affirmative "hai." She didn't really know what she was affirming.

In the front seat of the blue Kia Spectra, her father Okuwaka Koubou, continued his lecture-rant. Between nodding and hai-ing where it seemed necessary, Tsubomi stole envious glances at her little sister. Akiko had dozed off, her head resting on the window_. I could never fall asleep in a car, though I could always sleep on a train. Some people must fall asleep really easily_. She thought wistfully of the train, of sleeping cuddled up to Yaya_. I miss her already. How lame is that?_

To get her mind off missing Yaya, Tsubomi tuned back in to Koubou.

"...waiting at the train station. You get what I'm saying?" He looked over his massive shoulder at her. His wife Michiko was at the wheel, her tired blue eyes focused on the road.

"Hai," Tsubomi nodded.

"What am I saying?"

_Uh-oh_. "You're saying that I was irresponsible and rude for keeping you waiting at the train station." Her father did have a tendency to rant for a long time over something she could summarize in one sentence.

"Alright. Glad we have an understanding." Koubou turned his head forward. He frowned. "I still haven't heard an apology from you."

"Gomenasai. It won't happen again."

"Damn straight it won't. I don't know if I'll ever pick you up from the train station ever again."

Tsubomi puffed out her cheeks indignantly. Sure, it was a childish thing to do and she was too old to be doing it, but it was all she could do to keep from protesting. Arguing with Koubou would only get her in worse trouble.

Michiko pulled the Kia into the garage of their house. "Well, we're home!" She was tired, yet she still sounded as chipper as ever. "Bet you're eager to change out of that uniform, ne?"

"Ehh, I'm used to it."

Koubou helped Tsubomi take her bags in. Once inside, Michiko went upstairs to take a nap.

"I'll make some coffee," Akiko volunteered. She headed into the kitchen.

Tsubomi dropped her duffel bag in a corner of the living room. "Aki-chan, since when do you make coffee?"

"Since I started drinking it."

"And since when did you start drinking coffee?"

"Just recently." Akiko appeared to be amused by her older sister's shock. Further conversation was prevented by the shrill roar of the coffee grinder. The pigtailed girl was about to pour its contents into the filter when she hesitated. She looked at Tsubomi. "Would you like some, oneechan?"

Tsubomi balked, then nodded. "Yeah, I would. Thanks." She remembered Yaya teasing her on the train about her caffeine addiction_. Shut up, Yaya-senpai._

This was weird, though. Akiko hated coffee more than anything in the world. She had once said that she would sooner pet a rabid raccoon than drink coffee. She had once said that coffee tasted like poison to her (or at least what she imagined poison tasted like). Akiko was funny that way_. I can't believe she's drinking that stuff now._

At her father's order, Tsubomi picked up her duffel bag and lugged it up to her room. She had never quite managed to feel at home there. Since her first year at Spica, her family had moved. They had moved to a larger house where she and Akiko could have separate bedrooms, where Koubou could have some office space, and where Michiko could have a dining room.

New house. Akiko drinking coffee. Tsubomi couldn't help but feel like a guest in some strangers' house.

She pulled her cell phone out of her duffel bag. She smiled; she had gotten a text from Yaya.

_i think i left my windbreaker on the train! :O please tell me you have it w/ you_

Tsubomi sighed at how scatter-brained Yaya was, then replied: _no. jesus, yaya-senpai. show some responsibility! _She distractedly tapped her phone against her palm, thinking she should add something. Her topaz eyes drifted around her generic bedroom that wasn't really hers. _hey, how old were u when u started drinking coffee?_

A little while later Tsubomi went back downstairs, dressed in a yellow T-shirt and denim shorts. Outside the soft rumble of the mail truck resonated from down the street.

"How was the beach, Hana-chan?" Michiko queried brightly, refreshed from her nap. She was clearing space on the countertop to start preparing dinner.

The pinkette winced at her childhood nickname. Since she turned ten her mother was the only one who called her Hana.

"It was...good. Just hung out with my friends." _Helped resolve a love conflict between my senpais. _"Spent some time with Yaya-chan." _Had an insanely amazing orgasm with her. _Tsubomi smiled. "We played softball, my friends and me, and when I was pitching I accidentally beaned Yaya-chan." She leaned on the counter, shaking with mirth. "She was so pissed!" Yaya's reaction had actually yielded laughter from almost everybody. She had dropped the bat, jumped up and down, held her elbow, and screamed "You little trick!!!" at Tsubomi.

Michiko smiled. "Yaya-san was the one who pushed you out of the way of that truck?"

"Hai."

"Well, then, she's alright."

"She's got some balls on her, alright," Koubou acknowledged, causing his wife and daughter to jump. He was so quiet, Okuwaka Koubou. Small wonder Akiko referred to him as "the Ninja." The rose-haired man sipped his coffee and continued, "I would never think to do that. My first thought would probably be to get help." He paused, took another sip. "On second thought...I'd take a truck for your mother."

"Aw, that's reassuring," Michiko cooed.

A loud, mechanical buzz suddenly punctured their conversation. Tsubomi pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. It was a text from Yaya that read_: i was 15. y_? Considering it rude to text while talking to her parents, Tsubomi put her phone away. She could respond later and Yaya wouldn't mind.

"Ah! That reminds me..." Michiko stepped back from the counter, and her hand disappeared into her jeans pocket. It reappeared with a white-metal ring with the Kanji for Okuwaka Tsubomi engraved in it. Michiko handed it to the pinkette. "I found this while preparing your room for you."

"What is it?" Tsubomi inquired, even though she knew what it was.

"Your Promise Ring, silly," her mother giggled, ruffling Tsubomi's fuschia bangs.

"You must have left it here last year," Koubou added.

Tsubomi stared wide-eyed at the Ring in a silence that could've told her parents more than if she outright said, "I'm not a virgin anymore." She knew they were expecting her to put it on her finger --- perhaps they were _even _hoping she would put the Ring on her finger. But she couldn't. It was the most offensive, blasphemous thing she could do. The Promise was broken. And she could not live with herself wearing that broken Promise on her finger.

_What to do_? She smiled up at her parents and said, "Thanks for finding it," and pocketed the Ring_. I feel like Frodo-kun being handed this intense responsibility in the same symbol._

Koubou opened his mouth, presumably to question Tsubomi's aforementioned action. But the front door crashed open, a brief cacophony of rainfall from outside, and the door closed. Akiko came rushing into the kitchen. Her pigtails were damp and she clutched the mail in her petite hands. "I got a letter from Astraea Hill!"

Koubou's mouth twitched, and for a second he appeared vulnerable. Then he puffed up and muttered, "Well, let's not count our chickens before they're hatched, ne?"

"Don't be a Daddy Downer," Tsubomi smiled. "If not Miator or Spica, she'll definitely get into Lulim."

The old man's brow puckered. Sliding his pudgy hand across his mouth, he leaned against the counter. His tawny eyes focused on Akiko as she eagerly yet conscientously tore open the envelope. Her hand plunged into it, and slowly withdrew a sheet of paper...

Tsubomi gulped in air and held it for too long. She saw a proud shield-shaped crest with three stars and two wheatstalks laced across the top. She saw green ink. "That's Miator's crest...!"

Sure enough, Miator's dean of admissions sent a form letter informing the academy's Class of 2015 of their admission.

Laughing with sheer joy, Michiko seized Akiko in a formidable hug. Akiko laughed and squeaked along with her. Tsubomi, the less touchy-feely type, smiled hugely and congratulated her little sister. Getting such an acclaimation from her beloved oneechan made Akiko's day, even her week. Koubou, his face a mask of disbelief, put a hand on the pigtailed girl's shoulder and congratulated her as well.

"You outdid me on the entrance exams," Tsubomi acknowledged, fishing through the envelope for the results. "Miator is the most academically advanced school on campus. A little outdated, but...damn," she sighed, sagging a bit. "Aki-chan at Miator...room-temping for those green-tied fuddy-duddies..."

Akiko took the envelope and pulled out her test results. "There's room-temping?"

"Among other traditions. I'll tell you all about Astraea Hill later." Tsubomi studied the results. She nodded; it was just about what she expected from Akiko. Average scores in core courses. "You rocked the theology portion," she realized. "Now that I remember it, those theology questions were hard."

"They were!" Akiko agreed, nodding furiously. "Especially that one question about the head of a pin..."

_"How many angels can stand on the head of a _pin," Koubou clarified. He twisted his lip, baring his upper row of teeth. "Yikes. That's a question my grandfather came across when_ he_ was in school. What did you put?"

Akiko shrugged. "I didn't know the answer. I left it blank."

"And you got it right?!" Tsubomi was incredulous. She considered her sister's theology score again. It was perfect. "But you can't leave answers blank on an entrance exam! You'd fail! This doesn't make sense!"

"That's theology," Koubou smiled.

"What did you put, Hana-chan?" Michiko asked.

The pinkette puffed out her cheeks. Steeling herself for ridicule, she grumbled, "Eight if they're skinny and four if they're fat."

---

The rain continued to come down, turning dirt into mud and filling pocks in the sidewalks and streets of Tokyo with water. The puddles bounced and splashed vibrantly with the downpour. Dark thunderclouds congested the sky, making dusk indistinguishable.

Nagisa sat on a brown leather couch in the Suzumi-Katayanagi living room. Tamao was down the hall, dealing with Arashi. The redhead was both impressed and disturbed by the old man's tolerance. He put away a bottle and a half of tequila before he began throwing fruit across the room. After another half bottle he stood up on the table in his robe, giving the girls an unsightly view of his boxers, and sang 'Jingle Bells.' That was when Tamao intervened; she dragged a protesting Arashi down from the table and off to his room.

From down the darkened hallway to the small living room the blue-haired girl's exasperated voice echoed hollowly like wind through trees: "...down, Dad...Mom will be home soon...Y-yes, yes...Erm, yes, 'Yuki-chan' does worry a lot...No, Dad, don't cry..."

Nagisa turned her burgundy eyes forward, focusing on the entertainment center. Back at home, Aunt Narumi's entertainment center was a ten year old TV on a table with one cabinet. This one, though; it put the 'entertainment' in 'entertainment center.' It flourished with a fifty-inch flatscreen TV, a Comcast cable box, a DVD player, a stereo system, a CD player, and a turn table. On the very top of the entertainment center stood several small framed photos. Curious, Nagisa stood and skirted around the coffee table to get a better look. Most of the pictures were of Tamao with her parents. Nagisa grinned at the earliest faded Polaroid. It depicted a black-haired woman --- presumably Nobuyuki --- haggard from caring for a new baby holding the infant version of Tamao. The poet's hair was nought but thin azurous fluff, her amethyst eyes vacuous yet interested. Her pudgy little hand clutched a pair of red-framed glasses, which she had yoinked from her mother.

The picture tickled Nagisa so much she laughed. "Kawaii," she giggled. Tamao starred in all the other photos. Three-year-old Tamao flipping through a translation _of Beowulf_, as if she could actually read it. Six-year-old Tamao in girlscouts, wearing a decorated green uniform. Eight-year-old Tamao in her Panthers uniform, poised on the pitcher's mound. The photos ran all the way to her senior portrait. There were no pictures of Arashi and Nobuyuki.

One photograph in particular caught Nagisa's attention. It was on the far right end of the shelf, and it was laid face-down. Nagisa lifted her hand to set it face-up when she was unexpectedly seized from behind in a playful hug. She jumped, her neurons caught up in a traffic jam to her limbs.

"Gomen," Tamao sighed. "Didn't mean to keep you waiting this long..."

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Nagisa shuddered, dropping her free hand to her girlfriend's arm.

"So this room makes Nagisa-chan jumpy, too," Tamao mused. She pressed closer to the redhead, cradling her waist in her arms. "You're so cute when you're startled."

"Not as cute as you are in these pictures, Tamao-chan," Nagisa smiled. She grabbed her favorite picture and held it up.

Tamao gave a sheepish chuckle; Nagisa could feel her face heating up against her shoulder. "Guhuhuhuh...Uh...This is why I wish I had siblings..." Nagisa was about to ask what the cerulean-haired ministrel meant by that. But Tamao abruptly changed the subject, letting her delicate hand trace its way up to the sandy-haired girl's face. "I'll wager I was nothing as a child compared to Nagisa-chan."

"No, Tamao-chan, that's not true!" Nagisa twisted around in Tamao's arms until they were face-to-face. The poet's visage, though exhausted, glowed amorously. "My face right now looks too childish to compare it to my younger face. Yours..." The redhead took a moment to look at Tamao's babyhood photo. "You can really tell the difference. And it's beautiful."

Warm jubilation swelled and rushed in Tamao's heart, like the tides of the ocean. Goaded by her joy, the poet hugged Nagisa closer. The redhead had been waiting for this moment; since arriving in Harajuku Tamao was wary to come within five feet of her. Now, finally, they were in private. Letting herself get drawn in by the mandates of her girlfriend's desirous heart, Tamao gently kissed Nagisa. A chaste lip brush turned into an open-mouthed kiss, though still pure in the simple pleasure of love. That intemeracy, however, was quickly tossed out the window in favor of a more sultry deep Tamao's tongue stole its way into Nagisa's mouth, the redhead struggled to keep a hold on the picture in her hand. It would be a pity to drop it.

So immersed in this artless moment was Tamao that she failed to hear the signature click-clack of high heels outside. It was quite a rude way to tear the minstrel from her love. Frightened, Tamao forced herself away, retreating to the opposite side of the room. Poor Nagisa, left in the lurch, stood helplessly, eyes glazed, cheeks pink.

"That's my mother," Tamao hissed. "So get that dreamy look off your face."

"O-okay." Nagisa attempted to compose herself, but it was not to the poet's liking. Sighing and wringing her hands, looking for all in the world like a long-suffering housewife, Tamao crossed the living room once more to compose Nagisa for her. The poet rearranged some messed-up strands of her girlfriend's copper hair. Just as Tamao was readjusting Nagisa's shirt...

The door opened...

And Nobuyuki stepped in.

It was only a subtle twitch of the attorney's pinched mouth that indicated she had taken the sight in. She had Tamao's features, violet eyes dimmed from a long day's work, and black hair put up in a severe ponytail. She was dressed in a smart French-blue suit with a gray blouse under its azure blazer. The colors together just screamed "refinement."

"Mother!" Tamao yelped, straightening. She tore her hands from Nagisa's shirt, but Nobuyuki had seen what she had seen. The lawyer clip-clopped past the couple into the kitchen, huffing sarcastically, "I always miss all the fun, don't I?"

"I-it wasn't wh-what it looked like...!" the poet stuttered, following her mother into the kitchen.

Nagisa blinked at the turn of events. Well, there was the infamous Katayanagi Nobuyuki, the woman who set Tamao quaking in her shoes. There was Tamao's mother, come into the living room and gone into the kitchen. Slowly, the redhead's eyes drifted to the photo in her hands: a blithe infant Tamao stealing a fatigued Nobuyuki's glasses. Nobuyuki still looked tired. Nagisa studied the picture, considering the ways both mother and daughter had changed. She set it back on the entertainment center, next to the odd photo laid face-down.

---

Meanwhile in Kyoto, Chikaru sat at a lone table in a tiny coffee shop on St. Ninnian's campus. In front of her on the table laid a three-ring binder: the art portfolio which earned her a tuition scholarship into the university. Chikaru had only been sitting there for five minutes, but it was already clear to her that this was not a place to hang out. The evidence? The one little table which the art major now occupied. People, students, came and went. Chikaru was waiting for someone in particular.

That someone came rolling through the door, carrying a black umbrella overhead. Chikaru smiled brightly; it was so good to see this person whom she hadn't spoken to in so long.

"Sorry I'm late," this someone gruffly apologized. She struggled a moment to close her reluctant umbrella, then seated herself before the art major.

"Miyuki-chan, you old nut! How's it going?" Chikaru greeted cheerfully.

Miyuki blinked, startled by her old classmate's exuberance. After spending days feuding with the Rokujous and Harunas, seeing an open display of emotion put her off a little bit.

Chikaru was not an idiot. She knew what was going on. Miyuki, as subtle the woman she was, had distress emanating from her in waves, like heat from an oven.

"How's the fight?"

"Slow and horrible," the Miator alumnist groaned. She ran her fingers through her ultramarine hair. "Mochiru-san's got a lawyer already. I can't find any good lawyers. I don't _know _any good lawyers."

Chikaru took the straw from her mouth to inquire, "Isn't Shizuma-chan's cousin or someone a lawyer?"

The art major suppressed a smile as Miyuki's eyes glinted and her cheeks pinkened. The blue-haired woman looked down and gripped her chair. "How in the world am I going to approach Shizuma with a request like that?"

The Lulim alumnist shrugged. "I dunno. Weren't you guys tight as kids?"

"That doesn't mean anything..."

"It could," Chikaru insisted, her straw jerking up and down everytime her mouth moved. "Shion and I have known each other for over ten years. We dated on and off in middle school, skirted around each other in high school, and now..." She grinned, flashing her teeth which clutched her straw. "I couldn't be happier."

"That's not the same," Miyuki murmured. She shifted in her chair, brown eyes still averted. "Shizuma and I never..." She bit her lip, unable to utter the rest of the sentence. With a sigh, she lifted her head, meeting Chikaru's earnest gaze. "Say_,_ where is Shion-san anyways?"

"She has work. She took on a coworker's shift for him. So work-oriented, Shion is, but that's just her." Chikaru smiled and leaned forward. "I'm sure you and Shizuma-chan could patch things up. She'll give you a lawyer, and you'll give her a friend. Shizuma-chan looks like she could use a friend."

"Or another notch on her bedpost." Miyuki blinked in surprise_. Why did my heart just flutter there_? She scraped her throat before asking, "Where does, uh, Shion-san work again...?"

"You keep changing the subject." Chikaru's voice wasn't accusatory. She stated it as a fact.

"That's because you keep talking about Shizuma," the Miator alumnist snapped. Her own voice surprised her. "You're trying to tell me something, but you're doing it in a very oblique fashion. What's going on?"

Chikaru sighed, her smile fading. So it turned out, Miyuki was no idiot either. The Lulim alumnist threw away her empty cup. "I just thought...Shizuma-chan seemed kinda lonely, and you and her are best friends. Also," she added, "you're divorcing your husband. You're back on the market, and Shizuma-chan just might..."

Stark horror crossed Miyuki's face as what Chikaru was implying dawned on her. At first, the Miator alumnist was as white as a ghost. Then as red as a strawberry. And every shade in between. Everything was reeling. Miyuki jumped up and grabbed her umbrella. "I just realized I got a dentist appointment."

Chikaru nodded, unwilling to confront her friend's bogus excuse.

Miyuki would regret running away like that later, when she returned to her now-empty apartment. She had run away from Mochiru, and now she had run away from Chikaru. Miyuki could keep on running...but eventually she knew she'd hit a dead end.

* * *

**Q: **If you dropped Hikari and Yaya from the top of a building, who would hit the ground first?

**A: **Yaya. Hikari would stop and ask for directions on the way down.

NEXT CHAPTER: Kagome learns some new things about her deceased father, and Tsubomi learns something shocking about her father as well.


	23. An Author's Note?

**Please accept my humble apologies.**

If you've checked my profile recently you probably already know what this is concerning. I'm discontinuing all my Strawberry Panic! fanfics...at least for now. Maybe someday in the distant future I can pick them back up where I left off, but I can't see that happening within...maybe three years. I guess I started too many big SP! stories, bit off more than I could chew, and then started a big K-ON! story to boot. Also, I sorta knew that one day I'd really burn myself out on Strawberry Panic! and I guess that day has come. Don't worry, I love it all the same and there really are some terrific fics on this archive that I may never grow tired of reading. One day I'll probably rekindle my interest in writing for this series...Sort of like how I rekindled my interest in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini (I used to be obsessed with that series).

At any rate, I may still drop in a one-shot or two, or some parodies. I just can't immerse myself in any big projects right now. Not just fanfiction, but _anything. _I'm getting married in February (no, not on Valentine's Day because that's a cliche), so that means I have to dedicate myself half to finding a job to support this new life and half to working on my graphic novel series Vernal Equinox which I intend to publish (yes, it's yuri). I'm working on a sort of parody-survey for Strawberry Panic! which I found on the Inheritance Cycle archive. I'll publish it as soon as I finish. Shouldn't take long.

On my profile I've listed some of my favorite series and pairings, so if any of them are your favorites as well you can possibly expect a story in their respective archives. I'm also trying to create a Strawberry Panic! abridged series on YouTube, under my beezyh5 account. I've finished creating the opening, so if it interests you, subscribe and comment and stuff.

I'm sorry that I can't continue these fics now. But seriously, look on this archive and you'll find some real gems. I would list them here, but I dunno...seems kinda wrong to either endorse or hate on a fic in this setting. I'm just saying that there are superior alternatives to my Strawberry Panic! stories.

For what it's worth, I had fun writing these. Thank you all for your reviews and support. Nothing means more to a writer!

~TamaoXNagisa4EVER


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